Taken Hostage
by NorwegianPilot17
Summary: Arthur lives in London and absolutely hates America. When his mom moves there, and wants him to visit her, he meets a friendly American named Alfred. They go on a camping trip to Arizona, but on a stop there, they witness a crime. What will they do when they both get taken hostage? USUK - AU - Warnings: suckish summary - yaoi - violence - Review!
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hey! So I have been writing mainly short stories lately. I have kind of been updating on my other chapter books, (Sorry if you guys actually like those and don't like waiting). I decided that this should be the chapter book I am known for. I only have one rule though… you have to review if you want another chapter. If I don't get reviews than I won't post another chapter. Those are the things that I need to make me keep writing. You got that? Great! Now enjoy this prologue then enjoy the first chapter!**

**Prologue**

I was walking along the gloomy streets of London. I was holding an umbrella for it was raining, like every other day. It was cold, but I forgot to wear a jacket. I usually never make that mistake, but I was in rush this morning, because I was going to be late my first period at college. That was also another mistake I would never make on a normal basis, but I forgot to set my alarm clock last night due to staying up late writing.

I realized right when I left my apartment building that I forgot my coat, but I really did not have time to go to my apartment and get it. I stayed inside for the majority of the day, because all of my classes were inside, but now I was walking home, and I was freezing. Good thing it was a Friday, and I get two weeks off of school after today.

As I hurried to my apartment building so I didn't get pneumonia, my phone started to ring. This was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was from my mother. She moved to America about a year ago, because her new husband got a job there. I didn't mind her leaving, it's just I didn't want to hear her have one of those annoying American accents. I was especially concerned of it being one of those country accents since she was moving to Utah.

I answered the phone, and was greeting with a warm, "Hello Darling!" from her. She still had her British accent which was good. "Hey mom," I said, walking into my apartment building, "Why are you calling?" "Can't I just say hello to my baby boy? I miss you!" she laughed.

I feel like she has gotten a bit obnoxious. She has definitely been hanging around Americans. I say, "It costs a lot of money you know… to just say hello. Let's just make this quick, so I don't have a big bill." "Ok sweet heart. How is college? Are you making friends?" she asked.

"College is going good. I have learned a lot of writing skills, and… no."

"Sweetie you should make friends with people. College isn't all about the school work. It is about experience!"

"That wasn't what you said before leaving. What kind of Americans have been brainwashing you?"

"Why are you so against Americans? They are actually very nice! That is one of the reasons I called you!"

"To tell me how nice Americans are? No thanks."

"No, Arthur. You have a two week break right? Come and visit me! It will be fun!"

"I guess I have nothing better to do…"

"That's the spirit! Book a flight to leave London tomorrow! I can't wait to see you, and I have some fun things planned for you to do!"

We said our goodbyes, and I hung up the phone. She has actually changed a lot. She used to be very strict, and never worried about how I never made friends. In fact, she preferred me doing homework over anything else.

She was nice, but never this nice. It made me think that something was up her sleeve. I really didn't want to go to America, but I guess I could deal with it to see her. I packed my bags, booked my flight, and started to mentally prepare myself for going to America…

**A/N: Prologue sucked, but review to see more! I am posting the first chapter just so you guys can get a real taste of the story. I felt like this story needed a prologue though…**


	2. Arizona

**Arizona**

I just got off my flight from London to America. It was ok, but there was an occasional kicking on the back of my chair from some annoying kid behind me. I glared at him once or twice, and after a while he finally stopped. I read a book the whole entire way there, so I never got bored.

I had just arrived, and I have to admit, the American airports are a little bit confusing. I didn't know where to go at first, so I just followed some couple that got off the flight before me. After an hour of following them around, I concluded that they were lost too, and they were starting to realize that I was following them.

I quickly ran the opposite direction to avoid the police and an awkward situation. I find my way to the bagging area though, and I get my luggage. I check twice if it is my luggage though. The last thing I want is some random person's clothes for a two week trip. I also needed my books, which were in my suitcase.

I figure that my mom is here to pick me up, so I make my way to what I think is the place for the people of my flight to go for their ride. I wait for a while, thinking that the face that will indicate me leaving or not, is my mom.

I wait for twenty minutes at least with still no sign of seeing her. I then start reading signs to entertain my boredom. Then, a sign catches my eye when I read it. It says, "Arthur Kirkland". I look to see who is holding the sign, and it is someone I had never met before.

He had strawberry blonde hair that fell in areas that complimented the rest of his face. There was this one hair thought that defied gravity and stuck straight up, but even that looked great on him. His eyes were a beautiful sapphire blue, and his cheeks were tinted with the slightest bit of pink. He looked… perfect. But he was an American so I didn't fancy him.

I walked over to him, because he was probably some American that my mom knew, and was sent to pick me up. She must have been getting things ready for me since this trip was kind of rushed. When he saw me, his face grew into a smile, and he ran to me.

"Hey! You must be Arthur! Can you say something?" he said to me, overly excited. "Umm. What is your-," I said, but was cut off by him, who said, "British accent. It is you! I am Alfred Jones! Welcome to America!" His accent was kind of weird. It wasn't British, but it wasn't a country accent. It was almost like he had no accent at all. I guess that was a lot better than those annoying country accents…

He patted me on the back, and threw the sign in a nearby trash can. He took my bags, and showed me the way out of this airport. His first impression made me think that he was overly happy all the time, and was a very excited fellow. Did he just get like this because he was nervous about meeting people, or was he actually always like this? I prayed that I didn't have to spend the rest of my two week trip with him…

I followed him through the parking lot to his car. His car was a black BMW which was very nice. I thought he would have some kind of pick-up truck that modern day cowboys had in the movies. He put my luggage, which wasn't very much, into the trunk of his car. I started to climb into the passenger's side of the car, when he said, "Whoa, you want to drive? Think you can do it when you are not used to the sides of the road?"

I looked down to see that I climbed into the driver's seat. "Blasted wrong side. I hate America," I yelled as I went around to the other side and sat down in the correct seat. He laughed the entire time. God, after only knowing him for five minutes, he has already annoyed the hell out of me.

As we were driving to my mom's house, I was in no mood to engage in any kind of conversation. I guess since Alfred was the talkative type, he didn't like the silence. Five minutes into the car ride he started asking me questions.

"Hey so have you ever been to America, or is this your first time?"

"First time."

"You don't like talking… do you? Do you like Arizona?"

"I don't, and I have no idea what Arizona is like."

"Arizona is pretty cool… lots of deserts. So, do you already know about the surprise your mom has for you?"

"No, and I don't care."

"Ok…. So, what kind of music do you like?"

"Why does it matter to you?"

"I just… Ok, Classic rock it is."

He turned the radio up loud to some song that I had never heard of. The radio said that it was called, "Carry on Wayward Son" by some band called Kansas. Why would a band be called the name of a state? Could they really not come up with anything better? I tried to sleep, but the song's lyrics kept getting stuck in my brain.

_Carry on my wayward son_

_There'll be peace when you are done_

_Lay your weary head to rest_

_Don't you cry no more_

What kind of lyrics were those? Alfred started to rock out to it though. I had to admit, I did like the tune a lot. I almost wanted to sing along, but I had no idea what any of the lyrics were. I decided to save myself from the embarrassment and another conversation, and pretended to not like the song.

He started to dance to the song though. He used the wheel as an imaginary drum set, and I was fearful that he would accidentally spin the wheel, and drive us off the road. I was sad that the really good song was over, but happy that I wasn't risking my life.

A few classic rock songs later, we pulled into a driveway that probably led to my mom's house. I got out of the car, and went around to the trunk, and waited for him to open it, so I could get my things. As he was getting my stuff out, he asked, "So, how long has it been since you have last seen your mom?" "A year," I reply.

"Wow you must be really happy to see her," He responded handing me my suitcase.

"I guess so," I said.

He didn't really respond to my answer. I don't know how that could have upset him, but in some way, it did. He closed the trunk, and led me to the obvious front door to my mom's house. Her house was located in a small neighborhood that probably consisted of five houses.

All of the houses in this neighborhood were fairly large. They were a lot nicer than my apartment back in London. Her house was surrounded with a garden that spread out until the lot of the next house. I have to say, I wouldn't mind living in this part of America.

Alfred opened the door before me to hold it open as I walked in. He was being more of a gentleman than what I would expect from an American. When I walked in, the smell of cheeseburgers and fries filled the air. My mom appeared before me with an apron on, and before I knew it, I was being squished by her embrace.

"Oh Arthur, honey, I haven't seen you in forever! It is so nice to finally see you again!" she said, as she finally let me go. "Ya," was the only response I could muster up, as she led me to the kitchen. I stared at what she had cooked for dinner, trying to wipe the disappointed look off my face. I was never the biggest fan of cheeseburgers. This was mainly because I had never seen one in my life, and had no idea what they tasted like.

Alfred definitely looked like he had seen them before. He look like he absolutely loved them. "Alfred you can stay for dinner if you'd like!" my mom said, inviting Alfred into the house. Alfred stared to me, as if to ask for my approval. I rolled my eyes.

I didn't want to give him an obvious answer or anything, but I did want him to stay. He was unlike any American I had ever seen, and I just couldn't stop staring at his beautiful sky blue eyes… He was still annoying though, don't get me wrong; it's just I wouldn't mind seeing him a while longer…

I guess I gave him the wrong impression by rolling my eyes though, for he said, "That's ok, I think I will pass this time. You two need to catch up, but I guess I will see you tomorrow." "Honestly, Alfred," my mother said, "Mother and son time can wait. Enjoy dinner!" She watched him with hopefully eyes. I almost laughed at the indecisive worried look in his face.

He finally said, "Yes," and strolled into the kitchen. I wonder how they knew each other. I guess I will find out over dinner. A few minutes later, we were sitting down, eating cheeseburgers at the dinner table.

The dinner normally seated four but my stepfather was on a trip to visit his son in Japan. I have never met the son, and I don't think I ever will. He wasn't even at the wedding. I was told he wasn't the biggest fan of people, and always stayed in his home like a recluse.

The cheeseburgers were surprisingly good. It took Alfred a lot of begging to get me to first try them. The only reason I ended up trying them in the end, was because I wanted him to actually shut up, and stop being annoying. I didn't show him my enjoyment for the burger because I didn't want him to go on and on about how he told me so, about it being good.

Throughout dinner, there was lots of small talk. I learned how my mom and Alfred knew each other. He was her neighbor. He was going through his last year of school at a college nearby, which meant that he was my age (21).

He was in school training to be a secret service agent, but he was also a pilot as a hobby. He was kind of interesting, and he probably loved cheeseburgers more than life itself, yet he looked really in shape. I guess secret service agent training does that to you.

After dinner was over, he helped clean up, and left. My mom and I caught up on a few things that happened in the past year, and then she showed me to my room. I was quite tired from the flight and the obnoxious American, so I immediately passed out on my bed without even changing into my pajamas.

~*00*~

The next morning, I woke up to the sun shining brightly in my window. This was definitely a first. I had never woken up to a sunny day in London ever in my whole entire life. I rolled over on the bed, still groggy from jet lag. I sat up, and noticed that I was still wearing my clothes from last night.

I lazily got up out of bed, and went over to my suitcase to get a change of clothes. After I was in different clothes, I went downstairs to find that my mom was already eating. "What time is it?" I asked, yawning, as I sat down next to her. "One 'o clock," she said, sipping her morning coffee.

I noticed this, and said, "Really mom? Coffee?" She stared at me and laughed, "What? It is actually really good! You should try it." "I'll pass," I said, starting to open the book that I brought downstairs with me.

She then slammed her coffee down on the table, and yelled, "Arthur, I forgot to tell you something really important!" "What is it?" I yelled back, scared slightly due to the loud outburst.

"It is your surprise, and he is arriving in five minutes. I am so sorry."

"Yes, what is it, mother?"

"For the next week and a half, you and Alfred are going to take a trip to Arizona to go camping!"

I stared at her, slightly pissed, but also slightly interested in what the time with Alfred would be like. I didn't like camping though, so I asked, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, I already paid for a tour guide, and Alfred is probably already on his way over, now go upstairs and pack your things."

I reluctantly ran upstairs, and grabbed my suitcase which thankfully had not been unpacked yet. I ran back down stairs just in time to hear the obnoxious American knock on the door.

My mother opened the door, and welcome Alfred in. Alfred stood by the door, and yelled to me, as I walked towards him with my suitcase, "Are you excited for Arizona? I have actually gone to where we will be getting our tour guide when I was a child, and I remember that it was a lot of fun!"

"Oh goody," I said sarcastically. My mother glared at me, making me flash a fake smile to Alfred letting him know I was sorry. He looked completely un-phased by what I just said, so I continued, "Here are my things. Let's just get this over with."

I handed my suitcase to him, and started to walk out of the door to his car. My mother stopped me of course, and demanded a hug before my departure, but soon enough Alfred, and I were off, or so we thought.

Right when we pulled out of his driveway, he said, "Hey, not all your clothes that you packed are like that, right?" "What's wrong with what I am wearing?" I snapped at him. I was wearing slacks and a green vest sweater over a white shirt. I was also wearing dress shoes. I guess this wasn't exactly the best attire to go camping with, and all my clothes that I packed were the same.

I gave in, as he laughed a little, "Fine, but what am I supposed to do? I was packing to see my mom, not to go camping." I rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms. He said, "I guess we could stop at my house, and you could borrow some of my clothes. I probably have something that fits you." He smiled at me until I finally decided to say yes.

He pulled into his driveway, which was one door down, and we both got out of his car. His house was the same size as my mom's, but he didn't have it surrounded with a garden. "Do you live with someone else to be owning such a big house?" I asked, as he unlocked his front door to get into his house.

I followed him inside, and he said, "Nah. Don't think I ever will, actually, but I guess I could have some huge party every once in a while with this house!" I looked around his house, and it was a lot nicer than my mom's house. Not cleaner… but nicer. There was a bar next to the kitchen, and the living room was pretty big too. He certainly had a great taste for interior design. He had a few soda cans laying around in the living room and in the kitchen, and some clothes on the floor, but other than that, the house was pretty nice.

He showed me around the down stairs, and then had me follow him upstairs to his room. His room was pretty big. It was definitely larger than my room back in London. He had a king sized bed, and a TV in front of it. It looked like he used the TV for video games more than actually watching it.

He showed me to his closet which was yet again, very big. It was a walk in closet, but wasn't filled completely. He had some clothes on the ground of his closet like he was always in a hurry, and couldn't clean up because he didn't have time.

He looked at me awkwardly, and said, "Sorry about the mess. Is it some British rule to be really clean?" "No!" I yelled, but calmed down, "We just don't like living in a pig sty." My attempt to make him feel bad failed for he only laughed. Why was he always so happy? Honestly, he is the first American I have met, and all I think of when I think Americans now is some happy, hot – I mean annoying, funny guy. Surely not all of the Americans are like him right?

Alfred started taking certain clothes off of racks, and gave them to me. "I'm not sure if they fit, so you can go into my bathroom to try them on, so we can pack them," he gestured me to the bathroom. I closed the door, locked it, and took a look at the clothes he gave me.

In my hands were a few pairs of jeans and a bunch of t-shirts. I decided to try on his pants first because I was worried about if they were too long for me. I slipped my shoes off, and laid them aside. Then, I took off my slacks, and put them on the bathroom counter in front of me. I felt kind of weird trying on his pants when we just met, but I guess I really did need fitting clothes for this trip.

When I tried on his pants, they were a little bit loose, but they still fit fine. They were black jeans, but the rest of the pants were dark blue jeans. He had a good taste in clothes. I definitely wouldn't mind dressing like this for two weeks. Maybe I might even where this stuff when I get back to London…but that would be pushing it.

I took a look at the rest of the pants, and all of them looked the same. I bet they all fit me, so I didn't try them on. I took a look at the shirts. He gave me about ten t-shirts. They all had either some weird phrase on them or a bold print. I chose a dark green t-shirt with white writing on it that I couldn't understand.

It was loose like the pants yet not too loose. I grabbed my shoes and the clothes I wasn't wearing at the time, and walked out of the bathroom. When I walked out, he was on his bed examining a jacket. When he saw me his eyes widened, as he said, "Woah…" "What?" I said, blushing. It started to become very hot in his room… "Nothing! I just didn't think that you'd fit in my clothes. I am glad I kept my clothes from when I wore them in high school!" he said, laughing his weird outburst off.

I waited until after he stopped laughing to speak again, "So, I guess I will go switch out my clothes with yours in my suitcase." I started to leave the room, but he said, "Oh no worries! I already brought your suitcase up here while you were changing!" I stared at him for a second. I felt my heart melt, but why? It was just a nice deed from a friend to a friend.

I then noticed my suitcase on the bed. It was still unopened so I guess he wasn't the nosey type which is good. I opened it up, and started to take my stuff out. "Wait," I said, "Wouldn't it be easier to do this in your car, and leave my clothes there, rather than bring everything to the car after unpacking here?"

"Oh," he said, realizing his mistake, "Well, I guess you could just leave your stuff here in my room, and we can get your stuff when we go back!" I agreed, and unpacked and packed again. When I was finished packing he threw to me the jacket he was messing around with. As I caught it, he said, "Here. It gets kind of cold on Arizona nights, so I thought you'd want it."

"Thanks," I said, staring at him with yet again, wide eyes. He was so nice, and everything he did made my heart melt. Was this what making friends was like, or was this more? I had never experienced the two before, so I was in the dark. Though I wanted to believe that I would not enjoy my time with this American, I couldn't help but feel like this was going to be the best two weeks ever…

**A/N: So that was the first chapter. I wanted to space out my first and second chapters a little bit via putting in some descriptions and un-needed scenes. Anyway, review for more! I have already written the next two chapters, so if there are reviews than you won't have to wait long. Thanks! Review!**


	3. Witnesses

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! Keep the reviews coming for the same rules apply for the next chapters! Anyway, as promised, here is chapter two.**

**Witnesses**

We had been on the road for three hours now. Before we left Alfred's house, he let me borrow his red converse shoes to go with my outfit. I had to admit, they were a lot more comfortable than my dress shoes. They were just a bit too bold for my taste though.

Like I expected, right when we got onto the interstate, the class rock music turned on. I have never been the type to listen to music when bored. It is distracting when I write, and I write all the time, so I never listen to it. That is why I have never developed a taste in music. Even so, I would have never expected to see myself liking classic rock ever.

The words to every song really meant something to me though, unlike instrumental songs or pop songs. Alfred's taste in music really made me respect him even more. Though, that made me want to throw up in the back of my mouth a little. Really? How am I coming to like an American? They are the very definition of obnoxious, annoying, lazy, loud, and selfish. I just couldn't see Alfred as any of those terrible things though…

Alfred danced and sang to the songs as we drove down the interstate. He didn't seem to notice me staring at him, smiling. I didn't actually notice myself until after an hour of doing it. The way he danced through life with a smile on his face and not a care in the world just made me feel so warm inside. I have no idea what is coming over me. Do Americans carry some mental disease that makes people feel this way?

I better go to a doctor or a psychiatrist right away to get that checked. For the meantime, I don't mind staring into his big, bright, blue eyes a little while longer…. Snap out of it! You HATE Americans. Why do you hate Americans again? Oh yes, they are loud and obnoxious and lazy, yet the only one you have met so far has been nice and sweet and caring and very VERY good looking and only slightly annoying. Maybe I should give Americans a second chance…

Alfred snaps me out of my thinking process when he says, "Hey Arthur, now that we have become friends and all," I shot him a look as he said friends. I didn't mean to, but it was just habit of me… simply reflexes. I normally don't like making friends, so when someone would ever call me that title, I would shoot them a threatening look that usually caused them to never speak to me again. There was just something about Alfred thought that just seemed so inviting. I actually felt the need to want to become friends with him for the first time in my life.

He continued, "Or… acquaintances… can you tell me now what your favorite genre of music is? I heard that is what people connect through." He wanted to connect? No one has ever tried this hard to get to know me. Usually my cranky attitude drove them away after a few minutes… "Why do you want to connect?" I ask, trying to say it in the least poisonous way as possible.

He says, "Well, I don't know. You seem like a cool dude beyond that little cranky British man act you pull." "It's not an act!" I say, defensively, as I feel my cheeks heat up, "Thank you though, I guess. I am fine with classic rock." I sit back farther in the passenger's seat, trying to hide my blushing cheeks.

Why was I blushing? Why did he make me do this? Why was he making me feel this way? What is it with Americans!? He slaps me lightly on the shoulder, and says, "Great! What is your favorite classic rock song?" I think about it for a moment, but the only song that I could think of was the song that I listened to first. It did have a catchy tune, and the lyrics were pretty good too.

"The first song I listened to when I got here," I mumble. I couldn't remember the name of the song, but I remembered the name of the band. I guess it was a good name if it was easy to remember… "Kansas," I say, "It was by Kansas." "Oh, Carry On Wayward Son? That is my favorite too! That's crazy!" he responds, smiling wider than usual, as he still keeps his eyes on the road.

I want to mumble some witty response that would usually repel away friends, but I decide not to because I want this relationship to go farther… I actually want to try this time to make him my friend. Though… something keeps telling me that a friend just won't be enough for me, and to be honest, I am a bit scared what it means.

~*00*~

We were now five hours in to the seven hour drive. Nothing had changed since we were three hours in. Alfred was still singing, though I felt like his voice was going to give out any minute now, and I was silently admiring him when he wasn't looking. Something must really be wrong with me, because I chose to stare at him rather than read my book…

He started to pull off the interstate, and into a small town called, Anthem. It didn't look like there was another interstate in this town that we had to go to, so I bet Alfred was just stopping for food. I didn't want to be rude, and ask him to get me food too, but I was getting a little bit hungry myself.

"Ok, so my car needs gas badly, and there aren't any burger places here, so why don't we just get food at the gas station? Are you ok with that?" he said, already pulling in to it. I guess I didn't have much of a choice, so I said, "Ya that's fine."

"Great!" he exclaimed, "I'll go in with you while my car is getting filled up. Let me just grab my jacket out of the trunk." It was kind of chilly for what I expected America to be. I thought it was warm like in the movies. I never had a car, so I didn't quite get the idea of filling your car up with gas, but Alfred did, and as soon as he was done, he went around to the trunk of his car, and pulled out a really antique looking bomber jacket. It looked like the real thing.

"Did you know that this is actually real?" he said, putting his arms into the sleeves of his jacket, and positioning himself in it comfortably. I had a jacket on myself that I preferred. It was the black one he gave me, and it felt more comfortable than leather. I had never tried on leather though, so I didn't have a valid source. I should probably try out leather, since he has changed every single one of my opinions of American things around.

"Oh?" I asked, as we started walking to the gas station, "How so?" "My granddad was in the army during World War II. He gave me this as a gift when I got accepted into college to be an S.S. Agent," he said, smiling widely as ever.

The way he was always so happy made my heart melt again. I tried hard to not show it in my face though, so I gave a small smile that probably looked too sarcastic, but he was un-phased yet again by what I did. I guess that was another thing that I liked about him. He could actually stand me.

I laughed about how that fact that he could stand me was a trait I liked about him, as we walked into the gas station. The gas station was blue and white on the outside, but on the inside, the tile floors were a beige, but it looked like they were supposed to be white. The fact that there was a little bit of mold growing on the walls made me sick to my stomach that we were going to get food here.

Alfred opened the door to let me go through first. Again, my heart melted, but I covered it up, by saying, "Thanks," in a dark tone. I started to walk in when he pulled on the back of my shirt. "What are you doing?" I snapped at him. Why the hell was he pulling me back by my shirt? He put his hand on my shoulder, and said, "Something is up." He looked like he wasn't sure what was happening himself, though.

The door closed behind us. "This better not be some trick," I yelled in a hush tone to him, though the look in his face looked more serious than what he'd normally put on. "It's not, and-," he gasped. He pulled a quarter out of his pocket, and dropped it on the ground on purpose.

On his way down to pick it back up, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me down with him. "What are you doing?" I whispered, though I was resisting as we both got to the ground and crouched. "I don't know if the culprits are still here, but look at the corner of the register counter on the ground. Do you see the blood?" he whispered into my ear, as he looked around. I stared at where he was talking about, and gasped from the sight of lots of blood still pouring out from behind the counter.

"Yes, do you think that it could be a murder?" I asked him, knowing the answer already. "Oh ya. But I am worried about something entirely worse," he whispered to me slowly getting up. "What?" I whispered back, following him up as well. He looked around once more, than said, "I think the killers are still here, and we are the witnesses of their crime."

His hand was still on my wrist at the time, and I could feel his heat radiating off of me. It was the only reason I was acting calm right now. He then brought his hand lower down my wrist until he was holding my hand. He brought me closer to him, and whispered, "When I jerk you. You start running in the direction I pull you, ok?" I nodded.

He then whipped me around, and started to head towards the door. We were almost out, but then I heard a gunshot from behind. I shrieked, then heard the glass of the door shatter. Alfred and I turned around, still holding hands, and there were three guys with guns pointed at us.

Alfred didn't say anything, and him being a S.S. agent, I followed his lead. The men started to speak. The man farthest to the right, asked, "Where do you think you're going?" "Ya, the party is just getting started." the man on the right said. The man in the middle, said, "You didn't think we were gonna let you go did you?" I really wanted to correct him on his grammatical error, but now wasn't the right time. (It was going to. NOT gonna)

Alfred held my hand tighter, and stared at me like I was the most important thing in the world to him. I blushed when I met his eyes, then stared at the ground to hide it. The men started to walk up to us, still pointing their guns at our faces. I looked back up at them, scared that they would be mad at me for not looking at them directly in their eyes. "Any sudden movements, and both of your heads get blown off, alright?" one said. I gulped. I don't want mine or Alfred's head blown off.

They checked us for our phones or wallets, and managed to get both of our phones and Alfred's wallet and keys. Are these what other Americans are like? Why couldn't they all be like Alfred? The world would actually be a much better place. They came around to the back of us, and grabbed our hands to tie them together. One of the men noticed that we were holding hands, before he tied our hands together. He said, "Awe, holding hands. Are you two gay lovers or something?" he laughed. I blushed a little bit, because I have had thoughts like that about Alfred for the past two hours, but then I got angry at the fact that I was just being made fun of.

But, Alfred didn't answer, so I didn't answer. He kept staring at me though. Even as he had a gun to his head, and I had a gun to mine, he kept staring at me, smiling. It wasn't his normal smile. It was a smile filled with hope and doubt battling each other in his mind. He was trying to decide who was going to win.

I smiled at him back, because his smile and hand was keeping my calm, it was the least I could do in return. They managed to break our hands apart, but Alfred kept his face in the same position, even when they tied our hands behind our backs, and shoved us into a dark supply closet.

We were both silent, until we heard the three men start talking. They were probably discussing what to do with us. Alfred then turned to me in the dark, and said, "I am so sorry this happened." It was almost like he was taking the blame for all of this. "It's not like you could have predicted this would happen," I replied.

"I know, but I should have gotten you out as soon as I saw the body. I-,"

"You are fine. We will be fine, but please don't take the blame for this."

I could almost feel him smile, as the dark room hid his face. I guess I was the one calming him down now. An awkward pause started to occur, and this time I was the one that couldn't stand the silence. "So, what do we do now?" I ask, making the awkward tension in the room even worse.

"I guess we just have to sit and wait. I think they are trying to work out if they are gonna kill us or not."

"Lovely. So what should we do to pass the time?"

"Wow."

"What?"

"This is the most you have ever spoken to me in one conversation!"

"Oh stop it, you git. I am only trying to improve this situation," I say, laughing. He laughs along too. I cannot believe we are laughing in this situation. We heard a knock on the door, "Hey stop flirting in there. Next word we hear from you is going to be your last words." They all started laughing.

My eyes started to adjust to the darkness, and I started to see Alfred better. He starts to stare at me as he realizes that his vision is getting better. He leans down to my ear, and whispers, "Let's move away from the door and whisper quietly."

I nod, and we back up to where our backs are against the wall. He starts to slowly slide down the wall, and sits down on the ground. I follow next to him. He then whispers, "So, my best bet is that they are going to hold us for ransom. That means that it is going to be easy for you to get out because your mom has the money, and she'd be more than willing to pay it for you."

I nodded, agreeing, and said, "Ok, but what about you? Your parents will pay for you, right?" He laughed, quietly, and whispered back, "Thanks for caring, but my parents are dead. I inherited all their money though, so I will be able to pay my ransom right away without trouble. I won't tell them that until you are out though, ok?" "You would do that for me?" I asked him.

I can't believe he is wasting his time for me, a guy who he has known for less that twenty-four hours. I wanted to hug him for it, but my hands were tied behind my back. Instead I said, "Please forgive me for my future act of gratitude." "What?" he asked confused, but before he could finish his word, I leaned on him acting like I was going to hug him, but I didn't.

"This is supposed to be a hug for everything you have done for me even though we barely know each other," I said, trying to keep my balance as I leaned against him, attempting a hug. I was only doing it because I felt bad for the guy, trying to be nice to me, even though he barely knew me, and I was mean to him.

I only did this action for about ten seconds, and it was troubling getting up, but right before I started to sit up straight again, the door opened. The bright light shining into the room made Alfred's eyes close a little bit. I noticed them, and turned my head to see the three men standing in front of the door.

The one that kept making rude comments about me and Alfred's relationship, smirked and said, "So, you two are in the closet being out of the closet!" The two other men started laughing at his joke. I quickly got up, noticing that Alfred's smiling face changed into a scowl of hatred for the men. He said to them, "What are you planning to do to us?"

"Shut it, we are going to do what we want to you. You are going to be like our little slaves," one of the men said, walking closer to us. He had a smirk on his fact that made me want to punch him until he couldn't physically make it anymore. He kneeled down, and started to lean into Alfred, getting closer and closer each second. When he started to get too close for my comfort, I yelled, "Get off of him!"

Great. I tried to help Alfred out, but my voice cracked in the process of yelling. The man turned to me, and smirked yet again. He turned to Alfred and said, "It looks like your boyfriend doesn't like it when other men get too close." I looked at him, trying to show the anger in my eyes. Of course, I didn't even know why I was angry. I just didn't want him to hurt or harass my friend…ya…that's all.

The man exchanged a look with me, like he was trying to have a contest on who could make the better 'angry' face. Alfred looked at me like I had done something terribly wrong, but he was also thanking me for it. He looked scared though. I stared at him now, trying to decide what he was thinking about, but before I knew it, I was being slapped across the face.

The pain from the slap was tingling throughout my face having my cheek as the source of the sting. I wanted to do something back, but I know I would only make it worse for the both of us, and my hands were tied behind my back any way.

Alfred started to get really angry, but when the man stared at him again, he replaced the look of his anger with confusion. I guess that was the only look he could muster up at the time. I closed my eyes, and tried to focus on something else rather than the pain forming in the side of my face. I prayed that Alfred wouldn't get slapped or worse because of me.

I opened my eyes back up when the man said, "See, that is what happens when you try to stand up to me. Next time you're gonna get stabbed." Alfred started at me. His eyes were not a sparkling blue anymore. They had dulled out, and he looked filled with fear.

The man was studying us, as we went on staring at each other. I could feel that we were both trying hard to send mental messages to each other, but it just wasn't working. I was thinking about how I was sorry, and that I hope at least he makes it out. He has done nothing wrong. I couldn't tell what Alfred was trying to say to me though. The man said, "You two are gonna come with us to someplace where we won't get caught. If there is any resisting coming from the two of you, we will shoot you on the spot."

I looked to Alfred as he nodded his head, so I did the same. One of the two other men standing at the door came and pulled me up. The man that was just talking to us took Alfred. They quietly and quickly walked us out of the room and out of the store. They walked us out to their car, which was an impala of some sort. They opened the trunk and stuffed both of us inside.

It felt weird just letting them do this, but I had no choice. The last thing I wanted was for Alfred to get killed because of me. God, I hope my mom pays the bloody ransom money soon… The trunk was cramped even before Alfred was shoved in after me. There was absolutely no room to move at all. I hope they are taking us to a place that is a short distance away from here.

They slammed the trunk door on us, making me flinch because I thought the trunk would hit my head. I guess I was low enough for it to not hit my head, which was great. There was one moment of silence before Alfred flipped around, and asked, "Are you ok?"

Why did he care? Then I remembered about the cheek, and said, "Ya." "I wish I could do more in this situation, but really all we can do is sit and wait for ransom, as they do what they want to us," Alfred said. I didn't like the sound of that at all, but I said, "Ok."

I would have said more, but I felt awkward in this situation. The trunk was so small, Alfred was practically laying half of his body on me. I could tell he was trying his best to shift his weight, but it looked hard considering his hands were tied behind his back. He was laying on his stomach so half of his chest was touching mine. I know that I would have hated this experience if it was anyone else, but with Alfred I was someone enjoying it…

It was dark, but yet again, I could feel Alfred's smile. "You know," he said, "I have this rule where in every situation I have to be the hero. I love how I finally have a chance to be one, and this is all I can do." "But you are a hero. Mine at least right now. I would have been killed right now if it hadn't been for you." I answered.

"Thanks," he said, "I hope I am not squishing you, right?" "Nah, your fine. I hope I am comfy enough for you," I said, trying to cheer him up. He chuckled a little. I could still feel his smile radiating off of me. And though I should be afraid for my life right now, he was making me feel so calm. If that is what a hero does, then he is definitely my hero.

**A/N: So that was the second chapter! Sorry I didn't post it as fast as I said I would. Two days late isn't that bad, right? Please don't hurt me for what I have done. **

***Curls up in a ball (armadillo style)***

**PLEASE REVIEW!**


	4. A day in the trunk

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! As long as the reviews come, the chapters come! I have created the next two chapters already again, so it won't be a problem to publish them on here, as long as you guys post reviews… Enjoy this and review!**

**A Day in the Trunk**

A few hours had passed and I was starting to wonder if they just put us in a trunk to leave us there and die. Alfred managed to squirm off of me, so I could move over and create a little bit more room. When we both finally found a half comfy position to lay down with, there was still barely any room. I felt like my hip was going to break the wall of the trunk because it was pressing against it with a lot of force. I bet Alfred was having the same issue on his side.

This tight space made it so our elbows were on top of each other, and our waists were touching. My back and hands hurt from being squished by my weight. I tried to focus on something else to try to be comfortable.

My thoughts were interrupted when he said, "I am giving this service a one out of five. The bedding is way too hard for my liking." He laughed a little at his own joke. My eyes had already adjusted to the dark. I saw his face turn to me. I couldn't see the color in his eyes, and I really missed the sky blue color that laid in the center.

I couldn't believe he was making a joke at a time like this, but I had to admit, it was definitely funny. I laughed and said, "I don't think we should give them any stars. The lights here don't even work." He laughed at my come back louder than he did for his. I never really thought of myself as funny, but with him I felt like I could do anything. I felt more comfortable with myself when he was around.

He broke my thoughts yet again, when he said, "I know it sucks that we are being kidnapped and held for ransom and all, but it helps that I am with you. That is not too weird is it?" "No not at all. You know, I actually was thinking the same thing," I replied, blushing. Why was I blushing? I was just saying that I liked his company while being kidnapped rather than being alone, so why did I feel like I was saying so much more?

We stared through the darkness at each other for quite some time before he said, "After this. After we are released. I really want to take you on a real camping trip. I'd like to get to know you without the feeling of fear looming around me." I could now see him smiling in the darkness. I responded, "Ya, that would be nice. Hey, have you ever wanted to go to London?"

"Yes, actually I have. I used to want to go, so I could see the London Eye."

"Used to? What made you change?"

"I guess my world came crashing down when my parents died. I was always the weird kid in high school, so I had no friends. No one was around to be there for me. I had to work extra hard to get good grades and work a job so I could pay for college. I was lucky that my parents left me enough money for food, gas, and my house. I just became so busy that I lost sight of that wish."

"Wait you were the weird kid?"

"I tell you this sad story of how I lost my dream, and that is what you want to know?" he said, laughing.

I laugh along, "I just never would have guessed that you never had friends. I thought that you were a cool guy that was popular with everyone!" He looked up at the roof of the trunk, with a big smile on his face. He said, "Actually, you are my first f… friend."

He stared at me again, still smiling, but the way he said friend, I could tell he was a little disappointed. Wait… did he feel the same way about me that I was starting to feel for him? Was I just starting to feel for him? No… I had been feeling this all day. The feeling though made me sick. I never saw myself having a girlfriend, but… I definitely never saw myself having a boyfriend either. Uggh! What is wrong with me?

"Me too," I said, "You were actually my first…friend, too." It felt weird saying friend to be honest. I didn't want him to think of me as just a friend. I wanted more, but I didn't know how to say it. We both stared at each other in silence.

He then lifted his head, and said, "How long has it been since they shoved us into here?"

"Umm. I think it has been around five hours. I am not sure though."

"I wonder where they are taking us."

"I don't know. I just hope they didn't just put us in the trunk to leave us here and die."

"Great! Now I have yet another thing to worry about," he said laughing. I laughed along awkwardly, thinking about if I should have said that. I probably sounded like a real pessimist. Since he was an optimist, I bet he didn't find that attractive at-. Crap! Of course he doesn't find me attractive. I'm a guy!

"I just got an idea! So you know how they tied our hands together with some cheap rope?" Alfred asked, turning on his side to face me better. I did the same, as I said, "Ya. It is starting to hurt." "Well, I think we can maybe get them off," he responded, smiling. I smiled too, but not as happily. "How?" I asked, interested in what he had planned.

"We can untie them with our teeth," he said, seeming very proud of his answer. I just stared at him. He then explained, "Here. I'll lay on my stomach, so you can easily get to my hands, and you can pull on the end of the rope with your teeth. I saw this in a movie once. This should make them untie." "Fine; I guess it is worth a shot…" I said. "Great!" he said, as he rolled over onto his stomach.

I had to dodge him because, he practically rolled over onto me. I got up as quick as I could, but then came down on top of him. Well… if things couldn't get more awkward… "Sorry" I said, as I realized that we pretty much switched spots. Except, I was on top of him instead of in his spot. "You're fine," he said, "Just untie me, and then I'll untie you."

I nodded my head, though he couldn't see it, and scooted backwards a bit, so I could align my face with his hands. This was indeed very awkward, but I rounded up all of those kinds of thoughts, and threw them away to concentrate on untying the rope.

It was hard a first, finding the rope with my teeth. I put my forehead on where I thought his arm was, and followed it down with my mouth until I reached his hands. I was only using my lips to search for the rope, because then when I found it, I would be able to pull the rope right then.

I followed the trail of rope until I found the end. I then bit onto it with my teeth, and pulled my head as far back as I could go. I let go, when my head hit the ceiling of the trunk. That was all I could do, so I guess whatever happened, happened. I looked down to see that Alfred's hands were indeed untied.

I fell to where he was laying before. For some reason, that took all of my strength. I guess that was what I got for not being an active person. I rested for a second, my stomach facing the ground. I soon felt a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks! I know that was probably hard for you right?" Alfred asked. "I'm just not an active person," I replied, nodding.

I then felt his hands start to mess around with my rope until I felt it get loose. My hands fell to my sides, and my arms hurt from being tied behind my back for so long. "Owe!" I groaned, as a turned on my back, and felt my wrists. There were rope burns all around them.

Alfred laughed, as he lay back down next to me, and said, "I know, it hurts! But hey, it feels nice to not have your hands under your back anymore, right?" I smiled at him, and said, "Ya, I guess so." "What are we going to do when they get us out of here? What are they going to do when they see that we have our hands untied?" I asked.

"Hmm, I haven't really thought about that…"

"Aren't you a little bit worried?"

"Not as much as I would normally be. You being here is calming me down."

I blushed, "Ya, well what if I or you get shot because we have our hands untied?"

"I won't let that happen," Alfred said, frowning.

"What?"

"I will protect you. I will not let you die, so don't worry. I will also get us out of here."

A tear escaped my eye. Why the bloody hell was I crying? I sniffled. Crap! At least he couldn't see that I was crying because of the darkness, but now he could hear it. "Arthur are you ok?" Alfred said, resting his face just centimeters away from mine. Oh how I wanted to hug him…no… kiss him. Why was I feeling this towards him? Wasn't it wrong?

I didn't want to ruin the friendship that was only starting to blossom, so I stayed where I was, still crying. All I could say to answer to him though, was, "Thank you." That was when I started to cry harder than I had ever cried before.

I tried to silently cry, because the last thing I wanted to do was make him think of me as weak. I wiped my tears with his jacket sleeve. I kept the sleeve up to my face when I smelled his scent on it. I could barely smell it since it was from his high school years, but I could still sense it there.

I laid there for a few seconds, trying to calm down, and just smell of him on his jacket. I was interrupted though, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around me, and brought me close to Alfred's chest. I put my hands on my face, because I didn't want him to take a closer look at my tear stained face. He wrapped his right arm around my back, and he managed to place the other underneath my rib cage and around my back.

He started to slowly draw circles around my back, soothing me. To be honest, it only made me cry harder. No one has ever been this nice to me except my mom. I have tried to push everyone away including him, yet he stayed with me no matter what. I put my head down on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. He rested his chin on the top of my head.

He whispered, "Shh. You're ok. Your welcome." I hiccupped as I sobbed. He only hugged me tighter. I then finally built up the courage to hug him back. "Thank you so much for everything," I said, muffling my words through his shirt. We were both hugging each other tightly at this point. He responded, "No, Arthur. I should be the one thanking you."

I soon started to calm down, though my breathing was still off. I hiccupped every once in a while, but it wasn't as bad as before. I wanted to look up at Alfred, but I didn't want to disturb the position we were in, in any way. By the way he wasn't talking anymore, I guess he was asleep. I closed my eyes and took in the deep smell of him. His scent even calmed me down. Being in his embrace, I felt safe. I didn't feel like we were in the car trunk anymore. I felt like I was at home.

My thoughts soon became dark and heavy, and I slipped into sleep. The last thing I remembered was falling asleep in his embrace, and thinking to myself, 'He is definitely an American I will come to love".

~)*^^*(~

I woke up to the sound of a door slamming. I then heard three familiar voice start to talk. I opened my eyes to see Alfred still sleeping. Our legs were intertwined together, and our arms were still wrapped around each other. A small smile was placed on Alfred's face, as he slept peacefully. I smile at the sight of him.

I heard a key start to rustle on the trunk door. The trunk started to open, and I was ready for anything. Anything that these three bad men were going to throw at us, I could do it, because Alfred was going to be by my side through it all.

**A/N: How did you like it? I think it is pretty good… I don't know though. Sorry it is short. Not much happens in a cramped trunk… The next chapter is a lot longer though, I promise! I guess you can review if you want another chapter...? I already wrote the next chapter, so review quickly so I can publish quickly, ok? Great! Bye!**


	5. Winter in Colorado

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter! All I am going to say is enjoy this chapter and keep it coming for more!**

**Winter in Colorado**

When the trunk opened fully, I pretended like I was asleep. I buried my head into Alfred's chest, preparing for the worst. I heard that one familiar voice of the man that I hated most out of the three. "Oh get a room you two! Oh…wait… you can't! Because we trapped you!" he said, tauntingly. The men started to laugh at his joke. I really didn't get how that was funny. It didn't even make sense.

I didn't want to look up at him, I just wanted to be safe in Alfred's arms forever. Alfred's breathing pattern changed. I could tell he was just starting to wake up. I hugged him tighter, hoping that he would not move. I think he was starting to feel out our positon. He then hugged me tighter.

"Hey, do you two hear me?" the man from before yelled. Alfred and I didn't answer. I guess we both had the same idea of pretending to sleep. I then heard his fist slam against the trunk, and he grabbed my shoulder, "I said, do you hear me?" He yelled this as he dug his nails into my shoulder. I opened my eyes, and looked up at Alfred. He was already staring at me with fear and anger in his eye.

The pain in my shoulder was becoming too much to ignore. I winced at the feeling, and was starting to feel blood trickle down my collar bone. "Are you up now?" The man said, laughing. I felt like my shoulder bone was going to break. I grabbed onto the back of Alfred's shirt, and held him tighter than ever to relieve the pain of the man's nails piercing into my skin.

A tear started to escape my eye and I wince from the pain again. I didn't know what to do. I looked into Alfred's eyes, because I heard that happy thoughts help pain. His eyes definitely gave me happy thoughts. When I looked up at him he was staring at my shoulder. I then stared at my shoulder, and saw that the blood was starting to bleed through my shirt.

"Answer me!" the man yelled. In the next few seconds, I felt like everything happened too fast for me to understand. After the man yelled the said phrase, I could hear his hand flying through the air, as it was coming towards me. I started to embrace for impact, but instead something else happened. Something that might change everything. Alfred leaped at the man from where he was laying before, and punched him square in the face.

I broke down into tears, and I didn't even know why, much like before. I heard the other men shout things like, "How did they untie their hands?" or "Get him before they get away!" I turned to see what Alfred had done, and what he was doing now. I then realized that he was kneeling over me. His knees were on both sides of my hips, and he was turned to the man he had just punched unconscious.

One of the men ran to check their friend that was on the ground, and the other man had already pulled out his gun, and had it aimed at Alfred. The other man got up, knowing that his friend was ok, and aimed a gun at me. I felt awkward being in this position with two guns staring at us with their guns raised. I slowly tried to move, but Alfred gently pushed me back to the ground. His knuckles were bleeding from his action.

"Stay down," he whispered to me, he smiled after saying it, which made me feel so much better. "Get out of the car," the man with his gun aimed at Alfred yelled. Alfred hesitated at first, but then reluctantly stepped out of the trunk. He still kept his hand on my chest though.

"Both of you, get out of the car," the man said, again. I slowly got out of the trunk, and stood next to Alfred. He could tell I was shaking, and held my hand. At first I jumped from the contact, but I held his hand back. I didn't really like the idea of showing affection in public, but with him, I didn't care. Even though… to him it wasn't affection. It was probably because he wanted me to not be scared, and do something that will get us killed.

The first few moments we stood outside of the car, I only paid attention to the men and their guns. After a few seconds of silence coming from everyone, I started to take a look at my surroundings. It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere. It looked like there were a few broken down train boxcars lying around, but other than that, it looked like we were in the woods.

Then I realized that there was snow all around us. It was snowing! It was supposed to be snowing in London now, and I thought I was going to miss it. I didn't know that it snowed in America! As excited as I was, the coldness got to me, and with the little layers I was wearing, I shivered from the wind. The only part of me that was warm was my hand, because Alfred was holding it.

The men started to come closer to us. They then lowered their guns, and said, "Come with us. The boss will want to talk to you later when he is conscious." They put their guns against our heads, and walked us to one of the abandoned train cars. Alfred still held my hand the whole way there. He looked so calm, but I could tell he was scared. I would be too if I just knocked out the boss of the group trying to kill me.

They shoved us into a dark boxcar, and said, "Stay here until the boss comes to see you. If you try to escape, we will shoot you on sight. Do you understand?" Alfred and I both nodded our heads, and backed away from the door as they slammed it shut. We thought we were going to be in the dark again, but to our surprise, there was a lantern in the center of the car. It produced no heat, but we were still grateful for the light.

After we heard the footsteps of the two guys walking away, Alfred turned to me and said, "You know, I knew that guy was the boss. It is always the one that annoys the hell out of you, and is really mean." He smiled, I guess hoping I would laugh. I gave him his wish, but still said "You know you don't have to pretend to be ok. I understand if you're scared."

"Me, scared? No way. If anything, that boss guy should be scared."

"You do throw a mean right punch."

"That is my specialty," he said, giving a cheesy smile. I had never really flirted before, but I had a feeling I was doing it. I wonder if he was detecting that I was flirting with him. Was he flirting back? I had no idea what I was supposed to do next, but without even noticing, I started shaking.

"Oh Arthur, are you cold?" he asked, as he started to take off his jacket. I didn't want him to get cold or sick before we got out of here, so I back away, and said, "No, no. You don't have to! I'm fine, really!" He retracted his action, putting his coat back on, "Are you sure?" "Why the hell would I lie, you bloody git?" I said, getting mad at him for putting me before him in this weather.

He smiled. I blushed, but to hide it, I turned around away from him, and started to walk towards the lantern in the middle of the boxcar. The boxcar was empty. The only object in it was the lantern. I sat down next to it, and looked at the ground. When I felt like my cheeks had lost their color, I turned to Alfred and patted the ground next to me, inviting him to sit.

He smiled, and immediately plopped himself down on the cold floor. "This is a lot better than the trunk, isn't it?" he sighed. "I guess, but the trunk was a lot warmer," I said, half meaning temperature, half meaning the position we were in. "I offered you my jacket. Do you want it?" he asked. "No I didn't mean-. No. You need that jacket. I have my own," I said, feeling my cheeks grow warm again.

He looked at me for a second, studying me. I stared at him feeling awkward, but let him eye me up and down until he said, "You know you are very interesting." I could feel my instincts beg me to start flirting with him more. I didn't know how to though, so I decided to wing it. "How so?" I said, straightening my posture.

"Well, when I first met you, you seemed like you hated everything about America, yet I feel like that has changed."

"Oh, don' get me wrong. I do still have many bad feelings towards America, it's just…" I trailed off. I was just about to say it. I was about to admit everything. "Just what?" he said. These words sent a chill down my spine. Should I say it? He was either going to hate me after this, or admit that he like me too. Ok… here it goes, "After getting to know you, I have been starting to get good feelings too."

That was a fail of a love confession. That didn't say anything about how I felt towards him. I feel like that didn't send the message across, but I guess it was giving him a hint. He answered rather too quickly though, and said, "That's great! I like you too!" I smiled, thinking that he probably just said something about how it was great, and America was awesome. But when I fully processed what I said, I snapped my head towards him. Did he just? What? Was I hearing ok? Did I he just say he liked me? Probably as a friend right?

"You…like me?" I said, trying to wonder if he meant friend or… more than that. He coughed, looked away for a few seconds, then turned back to me and said, "Ya… I guess what I'm trying to say is-," I don't know what I was doing but I interrupted him, and said, "I like you too!"

He stopped just before he could explain himself, and said, "Wait… Just to be clear we are on the same page here…. More than a friend…right?" He coughed again. I guess that was what he did when he was nervous. I found that adorable. "Yes of course, you idiot. I think I like you much more than a friend," I replied.

He frowned, "What do you mean by 'you think'?"

"I have never had a friend, crush, or a boy/girlfriend before so I don't know the difference between those feelings of 'like'"

"Oh. I guess the same goes for me. Maybe, it really is just for friendship," he said, looking down at the ground. This wasn't right. Somehow, words started forming inside of my brain, and they were just begging to come out.

Before even thinking about what I was about to say, I said, "Look. Maybe I am wrong about what I am feeling now, but there is one thing I know. Every time I have thought about you in the past two days, my heart skips a beat. Your smell calms me down, and is the most amazing thing in the world. I find you very attractive which I am sure what I should not feel towards a friend, and your eyes. Don't even get me started on your eyes. Every time I stare into them my heart melts over and over. The way you dance and sing to the classic rock songs in the car make me happier than I even thought I'd be, and I could go on for hours or days even about why you make me smile. Now… I may think that I like you much more than a friend, but I know that you are one of the best things that have ever happened to me."

I took a deep breath and exhaled, because that was a lot to get out. I bet my face was as red as blood right now. I looked down to hide it. When I didn't hear a response, I looked up at him. He was staring at me, wide eyed. It looked like he was trying to process everything I just said. Maybe I should just take it all back, pretend it never happened.

Maybe… I could bash him upside the head with the lantern, so he would forget everything. Nah, I don't want to hurt him in any way. But… I don't want our friendship to end, either. "Look," I started, "Just pretend I didn't say-," I was interrupted by him pulling the collar of my shirt towards him.

Before I could even understand what was happening, his lips were pressed against mine. I bet he was as confused as I was, but I didn't resist. In fact, I kissed back. This was my first kiss, so I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do with my lips, or where to put my hands. I was going to copy him, but both of his hands were on the collar of my shirt still, and I didn't think they were supposed to be there. I guess this was his first kiss too.

I read this in a book once. They usually put their hands on each other's back as they kissed. I decided that I will do that, even though I will probably fail and make it awkward. I slowly put my hands around what I felt was him. I originally and accidentally put my hands on his waist, but I slowly moved my hands up to his upper back.

As for my lips, I just went along with what he was doing. I mean, it felt like he was doing that part right…

The kiss felt good, I had to admit. We finally broke for air, and I said, panting, "Ya, now I know I like you _A LOT _more than a friend," I looked at Alfred who was in the same shape that I was. He let out a tired laugh, and said, "I think that cleared everything up for me…" "And?" replied to him, half knowing that he like it, but half fearing that he decided that he wasn't into me. He leaned in closer, and whispered, "I want to do that again." I smiled, just before he smacked his lips against mine, causing me to fall over (I have always been very weak). When I fell on my back, we still didn't separate. He had fallen over with me, but not on me.

He was holding himself up with his right arm, as he hovered over me, kissing me. I didn't know where to put my hands, again. After a second of rushed thinking, I decided to keep them on the ground. He brought his left hand up, and brushed it through my hair as we kissed. His lips were warm even though we were in a freezing environment.

I was starting to run out of breath, so I broke it. I smiled at him, as he smiled back. "We should get some sleep," he admitted, sitting back on my legs. I look to the wall next to me, and looked through a crack in it. It was indeed night time because it was dark out, but I was too afraid to fall asleep when there were three guys that were on the verge of killing us, right outside our door.

I guess he saw through my eyes what was feeling, and said, "Don't be afraid. Remember?" he stood up, and lent me a hand. I stood up with him. He then embraced me in the warmest of hugs, and said, "I will always protect you." I loved how he said this, yet I hated how he would risk his own life for me. I know that we just confessed to each other, but we still had only known one another for a few days. I don't know what I would do if he died. I rested my head in his chest, and said softly, "Ya, but who will protect you? I'm too weak to-," "You are not too weak. Never say that about yourself. Just the thought of you has been protecting me for the past two days." He said, wrapping his arms around me, again.

We stayed like that for an hour, swaying back and forth to the sounds of the wind rustling through the trees around us. The howling of wolves sang along with the crickets chirping and the owl's cry of the night. I felt like he and I were the only people in the world.

I almost fell asleep in his tight embrace. When he noticed that my legs were getting weak, he said, "Let's go to sleep," I nodded lazily, and walked over to where he was leading me, which was the darkest corner of the train. He laid down in the corner, and gestured me to sit next to him.

I did so, while holding his hand. He shifted so I could fall asleep on his chest. He wrapped both arms loosely around me, as I slowly drifted to sleep while listening to his heartbeat. I felt like when I was with him, there was a force field around us both, where no one could hurt us. I felt invincible, and wanted that to last forever.

~*(^^)*~

I woke up by the touch of his hand gently brushing my hair back out of my face. "Good morning," he said, looking down to me. We were in the same position we fell asleep in last night. Looking at him with the bright lights shining through the cracks of the train car, I noticed that he was certainly very hot in the morning.

His hair was messy and some strands hung over his face, yet that one hair that always defied gravity still stuck up. His eyes looked bluer than ever, and I swore they had sparkles dancing around in them. His smile could still brighten up the cloudiest of days. His morning self was brighter than the sun. I rested my head back down on his chest, and nuzzled my way to finding coziness again.

I replied back with a lazy, "Good morning". He gently drew circles around my back, as we laid like that for a few minutes. The door started to open, and I rolled my eyes, knowing that this perfect morning was going to be spoiled.

"Rise and shine!" I heard a familiar voice say. In fact, it was from someone that I hoped I would never hear again; the boss. Alfred held me tighter, reminding me that he was going to protect me. "Oh," the man laughed, seeing us, "Aren't you two just adorable! You know, I feel like every time I see you two, you guys are doing lovey dovey stuff."

I noticed that his accent was nothing like Alfred's. In fact, it was a lot more southern… the stereotypical southern accent that I hated. (On him at least. On Alfred, I wouldn't mind, because I have to admit… it would be hot). "Actually," he continued, "I sometimes feel kind of rude barging in on you two when you have you're… 'Moments', but then I remember that I am doing everyone a favor, because it really does make us all sick!"

He yelled that last part, making me hide my face into Alfred's bomber jacket. I could even hear the man spit on the ground of the boxcar after he yelled. Alfred held me even closer to him, as I heard footsteps coming closer. "You know… I was going to peacefully hold you for ransom," he said, getting closer and closer, "Just hold you up here in a boxcar and only verbally torture you, but now," he laughed, "we are going to have lots of fun."

I looked up just in time to see his evil grin spreading across his face. I felt so many emotions rush through me at that point. Were we ever going to make it out alive? One thing was for sure though, I needed to protect Alfred. I know he wanted to be a hero, but what is a hero if he is not alive to protect me?

**A/N: Well…. That was the fifth chapter I guess. It was crappy and I felt like I rushed them a little bit too much, but OH WELL! It wasn't that much longer than the last one, but I guess 1000 or so words longer is pretty good. Sorry it is a cliff hanger! Don't worry though! Its Friday… the weekend is here! I will update tomorrow because I already wrote the next three chapters! You just have to review…**

**Have a great day! Review!**

**~ NorwegianPilot17**


	6. Defensless Fun

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! I only like to update one chapter a day, so that is why I am not updating as fast as I could. Anyway, keep the reviews coming and enjoy the chapter! This is a lot longer than normal chapters, but oh well. Review after so I can post another chapter!**

**Defenseless Fun**

I didn't know what to do. Should I punch him like Alfred did, or should I just burry my head deeper into Alfred's chest? Before I could decide what I was going to do, the boss grabbed Alfred by his hair and dragged him to the center of the boxcar. I screamed for him to let Alfred go, but Alfred looked at me, telling me to stay quiet.

I ran to the center anyway. Tears were already falling down my cheek, as I cried, "Please don't hurt him. It was all my fault!" The boss picked Alfred up by his hair, bending his neck back, and whispered into his ear, "Is this true?"

"No!" He yelled, holding his head to make the pain of his hair being pulled have a less impact on him. "Then why is he saying that it is?" The boss yelled, throwing Alfred back to the ground. He picked him back up by the shoulders, and threw him against the wall.

All I could do was watch in tears, as Alfred slid down the wall, still staring at me. He kept mouthing to me, "Don't worry." What the bloody hell did he mean by that? Of course I was going to worry! The moment that the boss started kicking him against the wall, was when I decided I couldn't just stand and watch any longer.

I ran up to the boss and grabbed him by his hair in an attempt to throw him down. I was successful, but he jumped up immediately. "Don't pick fights you can't win, boy," he said, forming a devilish smile on his face.

"Please don't" I could hear Alfred pleading for him no hurt me. I ran to the other side of the boxcar to maybe escape my fate, but he was going to beat me up no matter what. As he ran to me, I was trying to devise a plan in my mind. I could dodge his punches, and maybe keep doing that until he grew tired. I decided to go with that plan, and readied myself as he was only a foot away.

When I saw his right arm swing, I bent over to run away, but to my surprise and horror, he wasn't planning on punching me. He was doing something that I couldn't dodge no matter where I turned. He grabbed my neck with both of his hands, and threw me down on the ground. He started to choke me with no mercy.

I tried to pry his hands off of my neck, but it was no use. He was much stronger, and I was weak. I turned to where Alfred was to say, 'goodbye' or something like that, because I could feel myself fading. I was choking on air, but those were my final breaths.

My vision started to blur and darken, but then I realized something. My vision became clear again when I propped my head up. Alfred wasn't where he was before. He was missing. I stared up at the guy who was too busy trying to kill me that he didn't notice Alfred had moved. Just past the man's face was Alfred.

He moved his finger to his lips to tell me to keep quiet. He then raised his arms slowly, as he was about to swing the lantern at the boss's head. I closed my eyes to relax because I was losing air, but it wouldn't be long until I could breathe again. I then heard a gun click, and heard, "Freeze!"

I opened my eyes again to see who drew the gun. Both the boss and Alfred were staring at the open door of the boxcar. I turned my head as far I could to see. The two men that put us in here were at the door. They were both pointing their guns at Alfred.

The boss looked up at Alfred, finally noticing him, and said, "Oh you almost got me! Nice try though." He smiled back down at me, and released me. I rubbed my hand against my throat, as the man got up, and started to walk over to the two men.

Alfred dropped down to me, and held my head gently to observe my neck, and see if it was ok. I let him, because when I was rubbing my neck, I felt imprints of his hands. Alfred looked sad. "What's wrong?" I whispered to him. The three men were just watching us with their guns pointed at us. I paid no attention to them, though I started to hear the boss whisper things to them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," he said, a tear escaping his eye. This was all because of me. I should have listened to him, and not moved from my spot, but I just couldn't watch him get tortured like that. "But you did though. I am alive now because of you," I said, holding his head, like he was holding mine. It was harder than I thought though, because my hands were still weak from the lack of blood flowing in them, and he was taller than me.

We stared at each other for a few seconds before we both started to lean in closer to each other. It was funny how he was thinking the same thing as me. I closed my eyes just after he did, and leaned in the rest of the way, so we could kiss. I didn't care who was watching.

On my lips, he said, "From now on, I will keep you safe, ok?" I moved my hands down to his lower back, and said, "Sounds wonderful." For eleven seconds we stayed like that before the sound of a gun shot rang through our ears. Our eyes shot open to check if either of us had gotten shot.

When the answer was shown that we were both safe, Alfred and I looked to the men. The boss has shot a bullet through the ceiling of the boxcar. "Are you guys done?" he asked, pointing the gun back at us. Alfred wrapped his arms around me, and stared at the man sternly. I could tell Alfred was furious at him for ruining the moment. I leaned into Alfred, and wrapped my arms around him also.

"Whatever you want to do to us, just get it over with. Do it all to me, just don't hurt him," Alfred said, sounding more serious than ever before. "Him? It just accord to me that we don't even know your names!" the boss said, "How about we get to know each other, while my two men get some… things for me." He stared at his men, and they nodded and walked out of the boxcar.

I gripped Alfred tighter. He always calmed me, but I couldn't help but still feel scared. Was I scared of losing Alfred after I just made him mine? The boss sat down in front of us and said, "What are your names?" Alfred and I stayed silent.

"Oh come on! I'm going to be torturing you both, so why should I know your names?" the boss said again. He turned to Alfred. "I know your name is Alfred" he said, "I saw your driver's license. I just wanted to know what your partner's name is." I could tell that he was getting ready to punch Alfred.

When Alfred didn't say anything, I spoke up, "Arthur. My name is Arthur." Alfred looked down to me, a tear in his eye. "Arthur and Alfred! Ha! The double A batteries is what I'm gonna call you two! My name is Brice. No, that is not my real name, but you can call me that," the boss responded.

Alfred and I didn't say anything. The last thing we wanted to do was engage in a conversation with him. "Gosh, I feel like I am having a conversation with a brick wall," he said. I have a feeling he is bipolar. The way he went from killing me to wanting to have a pleasant conversation, scared me. "The two other men with me are Tom and Jensen. Again, not their real names, but you can call them that," he said.

Alfred rested his head on the top of mine. He kissed my hair, and held me tighter. The man saw that we didn't want to have a conversation, and said, "Ok. Fine, but it will only make your torture worse." Alfred winced at this, and the man stood up, and walked out of the boxcar.

When we were sure that he was gone, Alfred pulled away from me, and said, "Arthur, I want you to run." "Run?" I responded, "What do you mean-," "I mean run. Run away from here. Now is our chance. I will be right behind you, but I need to get you away from here. I need you to be safe," he replied.

"Alfred that is impossible. They have loaded guns, and I am not going anywhere without you by my side," I said, staring up into his beautiful blue eyes. I want to see them for the rest of my life, so there was no way I was going to risk leaving him behind.

Alfred smiled, knowing that I would never say, 'yes' to his plan. He started to lean in to kiss me, but noises from the door to the boxcar indicated that the three men were coming back. "Whatever happens," Alfred said, with worry in his eyes, "Remember that I love you." "I won't remember that unless you tell me every day for the rest of my life. I will not leave here without you." I said, getting mad at him for saying things like he was going to die.

Alfred smiled, but when the men came in, it became short lasting. Brice spoke, "Tom hold the scrawny blonde one, and Jensen hold Alfred. I will set up." Set up? What did he mean by set up? And….. What does he mean by scrawny and blonde?! I decided to shake it off, as the man by the name of Tom grabbed both of my arms, and locked them behind my back.

Alfred and I stared at each other, but then turned our attention to Brice, as we watched him 'set up'. That was when I notice that they brought a crate, three chairs, and a small table that had wheels on it. What were they planning to do to us? He opened the crate, and started to pull out things like metal chains and knives. I heart beat faster every time he pulled out something.

He start to connect the chains to cuffs, and hung them over a hooks attached to the wall of the boxcar. I didn't notice them there before, probably because it was too dark. I then realized what he was doing. He was probably going to chain us up on the wall, so we wouldn't be able to fight back when he tortured us. Maybe I was wrong, I hope I was wrong, because I did not want to see Alfred go through pain any more.

Brice sat the knives, his gun, and other tools on the table he brought in earlier. This process took the longest ten minutes of my life. I was waiting anxiously for what he was going to do next, all while he was organizing the tools he was going to use to torture me and Alfred. When he placed the last knife down, he turned to me, and said, "Tom, give me Arthur. I think he is the key to teaching our friend Alfred here a lesson. Don't you think?"

"Sure thing boss," Tom said. Alfred's eyes widened. He stared to me, and screamed, "Please don't do this!" "Don't blame me! You did this to yourself," Brice said, smirking. I was roughly handed over from Tom to Brice in a matter of seven seconds. I didn't say anything, because I didn't want to make things worse. Though tears ran down my face from both sadness and fear, I was glad it was me instead of Alfred. I stared at him, and tried to smile to make him feel better.

I closed my eyes and tried to curl my lips up, but I couldn't help but cry more. I now knew how it felt to watch someone be tortured, and I didn't want him to go through that. I don't think my smile worked, because he started crying. He knees weakened, and he fell to the floor even though he was being held up by Jensen.

He was wailing, even though nothing had happened yet. Between his cries, he kept yelling, "Please! Please stop! No, please let him go!" I was about to cry even more with him, but I needed to stay strong for him. I didn't mean to, but I yelled at him, "Alfred, you are only making things worse for me. Just stop already!"

I tried not to cry when I said this, but tears escaped my eyes anyway. At this point, Brice had already chained up my left hand in the cuffs above me, and was moving onto my right hand. As he changed it, Alfred looked at me, tears in his eyes, and said, "I'm so so sorry Arthur. I- I love you! I just wanted to protect you!"

Alfred fell over again, crying. I only said my last words in that tone to keep me from crying, but I never knew Alfred would be so hurt over that. I guess he really did want to be the hero. It was too late now. I lowered my head and cried silently, awaiting the torture that was about to come. I tried to focus on the wind outside, but Alfred's crying kept getting in the way.

Brice then spoke, "Hold Alfred's head in a position where he can see Arthur, and can't turn away." Jensen bent down and held Alfred's face up roughly by his chin. When I realized what they were making Alfred do, I yelled, "Please don't make him do this. You can torture me as much as you want, just don't make him watch!" At this point I was crying more than Alfred was.

Why was this happening? I tried to move, but my legs were tied together and my arms and hands were chained to the wall. "Alfred!" I yelled, as Brice was choosing which knife he wanted to use on me, "Alfred I love you!" I looked away from Alfred, because I didn't want to see him sad anymore. I felt like that was worse than any torture.

I turned my attention to Brice who was now walking towards me with a larger than normal pocket knife. I looked at the jagged blade on it, and winced just thinking about the next ten minutes of my life. His smile started to widen with each step closer to me he got. When he got just one foot away, he turned to Alfred, who was being forced to watch. He said, "Now Alfred. As you watch your boyfriend get mutilated by me, I want you to keep in mind that it is in fact all your fault. Then when his unconscious body is lying on the ground when I'm done, I want you to think about how there was nothing you could do to save him."

Alfred didn't say anything, he just closed his eyes, tears falling as his eyelids closed completely. I didn't know what to do. I was pretty much defenseless for everything that was about to come my way. He threated to shoot me in the head if Alfred didn't open his eyes to watch, so I decided to keep eye contact with Alfred through the next torturing moments.

Brice then turned his attention to me after he was done threatening Alfred. "I'm sorry your boyfriend did this to you." I didn't know what to say. I knew that this wasn't Alfred's fault, but I know that if I said anything against Brice, it would just make my torture worse.

"Hey, look at me, dammit!" Brice yelled, roughly grabbing my chin, forcing me to face him. I tried to keep my focus on Alfred, but his grip was too strong. I glared at Brice, feeling like lasers were coming from my eyes and searing into his soul. "I am gonna let you choose what you want to happen to you. Do you want a slow and agonizing torture where I keep you barely conscious, or do you want me to knock you out, and you to wake up surprised at what I did to you?"

He laughed viscously as Jensen and Tom laughed along from their spots, holding down Alfred. Alfred cried even louder. I considered this for a moment. Both options were terrible, but I'd rather know what he was doing to me, rather than waking up to immense pain all at once.

"First one," I murmured. I guess it was better if they had to keep me barely conscious. "Great," Brice smirked, holding the knife up to my face. The cold metal started to touch the top of my cheek, just below my eye. I felt like tip of the blade could jab my eye if I made just one small move. The more Brice smiled, the deeper the knife went into my skin, or vice-versa.

Then there was the moment, where the barrier between my skin and the inside broke, and blood started to leak out. He moved the knife from the top of my cheek to the bottom of my jawbone. I winced at the pain, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be. "Does that hurt?" he said, in a psychotic way that sent a chill down my spine.

I said this for Alfred's sake, "Not really." Only after I said those words was when I realized that I had made such a stupid mistake. Brice's bipolar personality kicked in, and he started shouting words that I couldn't understand, because they were so loud and fast. Spit was flying from his mouth. I wondered what set him off, but then he turned to me again, making me pause my thoughts. "I'll try a different approach with you," he laughed, "Here hold this."

He was wanting me to hold the knife. For a second, I was confused because it would be hard for me to hold anything with my hands tied up, but everything made sense when he stabbed me in the shoulder. I was being his literal pin cushion for knives. I had to admit, that did hurt. In fact it hurt a lot. I had never felt such pain in my life.

I screamed from the knife going directly through my skin, muscles, bones, and all. Blood started pouring out around the knife. I heard Alfred scream, then start wail again. I kept hearing his voice over and over again, keep saying "Please stop this! This isn't right – just – Please!" I stared up from the ground to him, and said, "Alfred… its fine. I'm fine."

At that moment, my vision started to get blurry, and his cries started to fog out. I was slowly fading into darkness when I my face started to sting from a slap across the face. "Wake up! I'm not through with you!" I heard Brice yell, so loudly, that I was brought back to my senses. He grabbed the handle of the knife, and roughly pulled it out, causing the pain to advance. I cried out, but stop myself in a half scream when I remembered that Alfred was watching.

I tried to move my arms to get out, but I was too stuck to even have a chance of escaping. I looked to see what Brice had in his hands; possibly being his next tool for torture. When I looked down, the floor was already being dripped on with blood. MY blood, which made me feel sick inside.

I focused on what I looked down for, and saw that he was holding a flame torch and a metal rod. Almost immediately realizing what he was going to do next, I decided to ditch my dignity, and start to plead for him to stop. All of my attempts failed as I watched him heat up the rod with a content smile on his face.

Tears were falling down my face, burning as some of them fell into the cracks of my recent wound. When he felt like the metal rod was hot enough, he put the blowtorch down, and said, "I am not as crazy as you think. I did actually stab your shoulder with reason," he started to aim the rod at my shoulder, "You know what they say… X marks the spot!"

He jabbed the burning rob at my shoulder that had just recently gotten stabbed, and burned my skin at the touch. Alfred screamed long before I even started to feel the pain. I screamed and screamed, and at this point, I didn't care what Alfred or anyone was thinking. I felt like my skin was melting off. He slowly stuck the rod in the prior stab wound, now burning my insides as well.

I screamed louder than I thought I ever could. My whole entire right arm was burning from the inside out, and I felt like was melting. I felt like I was undergoing hours of pain, and my head was starting to hurt.

I started wailing when he pulled the rod away. He put the rod down, and turned to me. He said, "Awe Arthur, don't get so sad so soon. We've only just started!" What? Just started? I feel like I have been going through this torture session for hours already. Has it really only been a short amount of time? My left arm was still burning, and I felt myself getting hazy.

I started to bang my head against the wall of the boxcar, hoping that I could knock myself out, and run away from the pain, but my attempt wasn't working. What made me stop was a gasp that came from Brice. I turned to him, and he was holding a video camera. He said, "I almost forgot to threaten your mom for ransom money! I might just have to do all that again, but on camera."

He turned the camera on, and said, "Say hi, Arthur! This is for your mother!" "You can't even send it to her. You don't know where to send it too," I smirked, spitting blood on the floor that fell from my face cut into my mouth. "She lives next to Alfred right? Her address was on his phone. Lucky for us, he didn't have a password."

I frowned from defeat. "Now… Arthur. Say hi to mommy! This will be the last time she gets to hear your voice if she doesn't pay…. 5 million dollars," Brice laughed, getting closer to Arthur. "What? She doesn't have that kind of money! That is too much!" I screamed at him.

"Nothing is too much to save your one and only child," he said. I felt like he knew too much about me.

"Now, I don't think your mom can see your injuries properly. Let's take your shirt off shall we?"

He set the video camera down on a table, facing me, and took a knife to cut my jacket to shreds, so it would fall off of me. He did the same with my shirt. He purposely cut me a few times on my arms while doing so. I only winced because those were nothing compared to the pain I was feeling in my right shoulder.

When he was done Brice picked up the video camera again, and started to show me off like I was just a canvas for his master piece. I felt the cold air from the outside of the boxcar, blow through the cracks and towards me. I was hungry, cold, tired, and in so much pain. I didn't know how this could get any worse.

I started to shiver. The cold air was really getting to me now. It was actually distracting from my shoulder, so I allowed it, but it was starting to get too uncomfortable. In the meantime, Brice was just making threats to my mother now about how if she didn't pay the money within a week, bad things were going to happen to me. I didn't really care. Just as long as he didn't hurt my mom.

He turned the video camera off when he was done, and set it back on the table. He turned to me, and said, "I just want to make something clear, because really… All four of us thought that you'd put the pieces together by now."

"What do you mean? And Four? I thought there was only three of you?"

"Well… Three of us played the part of the bad guy. Did it not occur to you that someone set this whole thing up?" He looked at Alfred then back at me. I was so confused.

"Well, ya, but I thought it was you? What should I piece together?"

"Alfred?" he turned to him. Alfred looked confused, but didn't say anything, "Should I tell him now?"

Alfred didn't say anything which worried me. Brice then turned back to me, and said, "Alfred is the one that hired us to 'kidnap' you guys. How could he have seen that dead body just as he walked into the gas station? Why did he stop at that particular gas station? How has he been so cheery all this time?"

I didn't believe him. It couldn't have been true. Alfred was just a college student who lived in a house next to my mom. He was so nice, and he always wanted to be the hero. I turned to Alfred, "I know he wouldn't do something like that. You're lying." Alfred gave me his warm smile that I was longing to see.

"We knew you wouldn't believe us. That is why we gathered up proof just in case this got out of hand and the cops showed up. The only reason we are telling you is because we were only paid to keep this up for three days. Those three days are up…so. Sorry Alfred!" Brice said so innocently. I hated him and there was no way I was going to let him brainwash me. I could see right through his little trick. This was the worst torture of all, and it was directed towards Alfred.

Brice showed me what looked like Alfred's phone. He showed me a conversation between him and them on text message. It said that his real name was Matthias on the screen. The whole conversation showed that they were talking about how they should put blood on the gas station floor, and about a field of abandoned boxcars up in Colorado. All the proof was there, and that was starting to scare me. I struggled to release myself from the cuffs, and failed again.

I took another look at the phone showing me all of this, and it was indeed Alfred's. It had a hamburger and an American Flag sticker on the back of it, and it was a fourth generation I phone, which might seem crappy for some people, but I could only afford a blackberry flip phone. I stared at Alfred who was confused at what was going on, and why we were staring at his phone. "What is it Arthur?" Alfred said, struggling to get free from the two men. Or… were they even holding him tight?

Was he even trying to get free? I had just seen all of the proof. There was lots of evidence that proved Brice right, and absolutely nothing to prove him wrong. I didn't know what to believe anymore. I can't trust anyone. Not even Alfred. Everything weakened in my body as I was struggling to find out who was right and who was wrong.

Had I really fallen for someone so false? This was aggravating. This was why I had no friends. No matter what you do, it never works out and they end up backstabbing you. I should have never trusted Alfred or fallen for him in anyway. Tears started to escape my eye. "Arthur, you're not actually going to believe them, right?" Alfred asked, a hint of worry lingering in his voice. I wanted to believe him, but all the proof was telling me that he was the reason I am like this right now, and he is now forcing my mom to pay 5 million dollars.

I responded to him with my head down, "I- I don't know." Brice… or I guess Matthias… started to laugh, and said, "Good choice." He patted my head. He threw Alfred a key that probably went to my cuffs, and said "When we leave you can unlock Arthur. We want our money within a week also, ok?" Matthias winked at Alfred, yet Alfred just glared at him. He was probably mad that they sold him out. Before Matthias starting to pack up all of his things, he leaned down to Alfred and whispered something in his ear. I could barely even hear their regular voices, so I couldn't make out what he whispered.

I couldn't believe this. I wanted to cry, Hell… I was crying. I fell for a cold hearted guy that only cared about money. He was a good actor, but I won't be fooled anymore. The two men holding Alfred down, finally released him, and Alfred scrambled for the key. He got up immediately to ask me if I was ok. I turned away from him. I do not ever want to talk to him again. He should stop acting too. His friends already sold him out. I can never trust another word he says. He is a liar and I was stupid enough to ever fall for him.

When he saw that I didn't answer him, he turned to Matthias who was getting everything out of the boxcar that he brought in earlier. He screamed, "Tell him the truth! You're a liar. I would never do something like that!" I didn't listen. That is what everyone would say, guilty or not. Matthias turned around one last time before closing the door, and said, "Arthur watch out for him! Once you fall asleep he might try and kill you!" I looked up, now scared that I was even in the same room as Alfred.

When everything was cleared out of the boxcar and the three men left, Alfred turned to me and said, "Artie please, please, PLEASE believe me. I would never do something like this! I would never want to hurt you. Just please, listen to me!" Tears were falling down his face. His crystal blue eyes made me want to fall for him all over again, but I just couldn't trust him. I couldn't trust anyone.

When I didn't answer again, he carefully and sadly unlocked me from my cuffs. I almost fell to the floor, but he caught me. I immediately stumbled out of his arms. I didn't want to be held by him. I didn't want to fall into his trap again. I most certainly didn't want to talk or kiss him again. I just wanted to be alone.

**A/N: Well… Arthur is brainwashed and Alfred is being accused for everything. That chapter sucked, and I am so sorry that I am doing this to Arthur and Alfred... Who do you think is lying? Alfred or Matthias? Write it in your review and have a nice day!**

**New chapter coming out either Monday or Tuesday. You still need to review to get it though!**


	7. I love you

**A/N: Before reading this chapter I just wanted to say that I love you all, and I love your reviews! I am so sorry for what I have done to Alfred and Arthur (mainly Arthur), but we are fanfiction readers/writers, so we enjoy that stuff, right? Please read and review after! **

**Thank you and Review,**

**NorwegianPilot17 ~*(^^)*~**

**I Love You**

"Please Artie! I love you. Don't believe them!" Alfred yelled, crying a lot more than I was. I stumbled over to the corner farthest away from where I had just gotten tortured. I wanted to hold my shoulder to stop the blood from pouring out, but it burned so much still, so I didn't want to touch it.

I tried to ignore Alfred's cries, as I slowly made my way to the corner. My vision kept blurring in and out, and I was scared that I would black out. Who knows what Alfred would do to me if I was unconscious…I don't even want to think about it.

"Why won't you talk to me? Or… listen at least! You have to believe me!" Alfred cried out yet again. I was getting sick of his pleads. I don't know why he wasn't owning up to the obvious. When I finally reached the corner, I turned around, and laid my head back against the wall. I slowly slid down it, closing my eyes on the way down.

I opened my eyes to see that Alfred was already right in front of me. "Say something," he whispered, almost like he was desperately straining to hear my voice, like it was the only thing keeping him alive. I just wanted to focus on something else besides the pain of my shoulder, and Alfred wasn't helping.

I sighed, and decided that the only thing to get him to leave was to give him what he wanted. "Something," I said. I really didn't want to talk to him right now, so I hoped that that sent him a message. He instead laughed, and sighed out of relief. His breath was warm and hit my lips as he was kneeling right in front of me.

He sat completely down, crossing his legs, and said, "Arthur, you have to believe me. I don't know what those men showed you on my phone, but I assure you that I would never hurt you." I looked away from him, and laughed under my breath in disbelief. He sighed that I still wasn't willing to believe him.

I mean, could he really blame me though? There was evidence of what he did wrong, yet he was still trying to tell me that he didn't do it? I don't see how he could have _not_ done it. He was having a conversation with the three men planning this whole thing. I snapped out of my thoughts, and looked to him to repeat everything that just went through my head.

I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped when I realized he wasn't staring at me. He was staring at my shoulder. "What?" I asked, worried, but in a quiet whisper so he didn't hear. I hadn't stared at my shoulder yet, afraid of what it looked like. It hurt like Hell though, and I guess he noticed that I was trying with all of my power to forget about it.

He smiled. Why the hell was he smiling? I am in pain, and this bloody wanker is smiling at me. He puts his pointer finger up at me and said, "Wait. Wait right here. I'm going to show you that you can trust me!"

He got up and ran to where the pieces of my shirt and jacket lay on the floor. He picked up a few pieces, examining all of them carefully. He threw some of them behind his back, but kept some off to the side in front him. When he was done looking through the pile and dividing them into groups, he started to look closer at the pile in front of him. Some strands were made of my jacket and some were made of my shirt. They were all long and big pieces. I started to get an idea of what he was doing when I eyed him closely.

He finally chose his favorite one out of the shredded pieces of fabric. It was a very long strip of my jacket. It probably used to be my sleeve, but was ripped in the torture session. He ran back over to me with the same goofy smile on his face. He stared at me, examining me, and asked, "Can I?" I looked away. I didn't want to answer him, but I wanted to see what he was going to do.

I guess he took it as yes, because a moment later I was feeling a minor pain in my shoulder. I looked down to see what he was doing, and to my surprise he was wrapping the cloth tightly around my shoulder. "What help will that do?" I asked, trying to sound ungrateful. I really didn't want a bad person like him to help me. Now he has the excuse that I owe him. What did he want?

"I am not sure, but I think this will help with blood loss. It may help prevent an infection, too!" He said, tying the cloth tightly over my wound. My shoulder felt like the burning rod was still on it. I was lucky enough to be able to move my arms. I was pretty sure I heard a crack. I hope I get out of here soon, so I can go check it out in a hospital. I should ask Alfred when he'll let me out.

"There. See? I helped you. I wouldn't do that if I was paying for you to be tortured," he said. I ignored him, thinking about many reasons why he would help me. I turned to him, and asked, "I think my shoulder bone cracked. I want to go to a hospital." He smiled. "When will you let me go?" I asked. His smiled faded. I think he was getting his hopes up that I was talking to him because I believed him.

"I don't know how. If I could I would. I told you that I had no idea this would happen. I also have no idea who those three guys are," Alfred said, getting serious. "Please," I started, but hesitated the rest of my sentence, fearing that he'd hurt me or tell his friends to hurt me again. But I continued, "Please just stop pretending. It is no use. I won't believe you."

A tear rolled off my bottom eyelashes and down my left cheek. Why was I crying? Nothing sad had happened. I stared at his eyes, and another tear came down my other cheek. I didn't want to wipe my tears away because I was afraid of touching the cut on my face. That still hurt, but definitely not as much as my shoulder, even though that was hurting less thanks to the cloth that Alfred wrapped around my arm.

Alfred looked straight into my eyes. When he saw that I was crying, he asked, "Arthur, why are you crying?" When he said that, I felt like the truth appeared in my mind. Why not just speak your mind even though you have no idea what you're about to say, right?

When I finally realized what was about to say, a brand new set of tears burst out of my eyes all at once. I leaned my head onto Alfred's chest. His warm chest and warm shirt was nice to touch after being shirtless in the freezing, Colorado air. As more tears fell, and fell onto his shirt, I said, "I just- I just don't know what to believe," shaking, "I want to believe you. I should believe you, it's just I don't know how to trust." Alfred pet my hair softly, and whispered, "Shh. I know it's hard. Just go with your heart though. It will know what is best."

I know I shouldn't have said this, but I said, "You're just saying that because you know my heart wants you. You did this to me," I pushed myself up from him, and got up, "I can never trust anyone. I can never trust you." He reached out his hand almost as if he was trying to pull me down my grabbing the air around me.

"You are just tired and hurt and scared. You are not thinking straight. You know I would never hurt you. Ever!" He sat up in front of me, and tried to grab my un-injured arm's hand.

I pushed him away with the little strength I had. Tears started to stream down his face. "What do I have to do to prove that I would never do this?" I looked away not answering. He was crazy. Why would he keep up the act so persistently? "Please Arthur. You know I am not like that." He pleaded. "Stop! I'm done! I don't know if you are like that or not because I don't. Know. YOU. You act like we have known each other for years, but it's been like what… four days?"

After I spoke, it was like we switched parts. He was quiet with no answer, and I had tears streaming down my face. I looked pathetic, but I was starting to feel doubt. Why am I feeling sad about yelling at him? Why do I… I won't admit it…. No, I have to. Why do I still love him? Why do I still see no hatred in his blue eyes? Why do I just want to cry into his chest again, and forget that this ever happened?

I feel like he read my mind because he jumped back at me, and wrapped an arm around my shoulder opposite of my hurt one, and pulled his chest to mine. He played with my hair with his chin and lips, and kissed the top of my head. He started to whisper, "I know it has only been four days, but I know that I love you. I know we haven't know each other our whole lives, but I know I want to love you for the rest of it. I know that I would never hurt you because I know that I would be the one hurting worse."

I decided. I know he didn't do it. I don't know how, but the men did something to make it look like he was having a conversation with them. I shouldn't have judged so easily. I didn't understand technology, because I only have an old blackberry. I hugged Alfred with my non-injured arm, and buried my head into his chest.

I kept repeating, over and over again, "I am so sorry. I am so sorry. I am so sorry…" He only hushed me, and said, "You have no right to be. You were tricked and weren't thinking straight." I pulled my head back to stare into his bright blue eyes again. I couldn't help but smile, seeing his face as innocent again. I know now that I am doing something that I thought I'd never do a few minutes ago. I am trusting him. With all my heart and soul actually. My life depends on trusting on him right now, and I feel like I made a great a choice.

Putting all those thoughts aside, I decided that there was one thing I wanted almost as much as getting out of here. I wanted his soft, sweet lips on mine. He had already started to lean in after he stared into my eyes for a few seconds. I love how we always thought alike.

Like always, I leaned in the rest of the ways, and pressed our lips together. His lips tasted like winter in a flavor. They were cold and sweet yet warm in my heart. His love was taking away from the pain in my shoulder. I felt like all of my pain and torture from before was slipping away.

I didn't want to open my eyes. I just wanted to stay in his arms, in his kiss, forever. He hesitated to bring his other arm up to me. He decided to just put his hand on my bare waist then touch my shoulder. Once he touched my waist, his lips twitched along with the rest of his face, and he pulled away. "What?" I asked, disappointed that he broke it so soon.

He stared at his hand, and said, "You are so cold." I had been trying to keep it in to seem strong, but I was in fact freezing. I felt like I couldn't move anything until that kiss warmed me up. The cold air was starting to sting against my skin as it blew into the cracks of the boxcar.

Just the thought of the word "cold" made me shiver. I crossed my arms to rub a light friction against my skin to warm myself up. "I'm fine," I murmured, trying to cover up the fact that my teeth were now starting to chatter. "You are shaking," Alfred admitted. I looked down at myself, and indeed I was. I hadn't even notice that! That bloody wanker knew more about me than I did.

"So?" I asked, trying to sound tough, but my chattering teeth ruined the effect. I wanted him to help me, but what was he going to do? Hold me? On second thought…maybe… No! No! No!. I will not sound like a pansy in front of him. "Do you want my jacket now?" Alfred asked, starting to take off his jacket. I noticed that he had short sleeves on underneath his jacket. I bet he was barely keeping warm by the fuzz inside the bomber jacket.

"No I do not. You need it too. Look at you! You would be in the same position that I am in right now if you gave that to me," I said, putting my hands behind my back to show him that I wasn't going to take it. He sighed, "You always were stubborn. I knew that from the first day I met you…" "Four days ago, Alfred. Four days ago," I reminded him. He smiled and let out a goofy laugh as he jumped at me, forcing the jacket around me.

I shrieked at the sudden movement, but then found myself fighting the jacket off of me. "You need it for yourself you idiot!" I yelled, as we both fell to the ground from Alfred pushing the jacket on my back a little too hard. Right before we hit the ground, Alfred switched our spots, so that he cushioned my fall. A pain shot through my shoulder, but I only silently winced because I didn't want to ruin the moment.

I giggled like Alfred to laugh the pain off. Alfred laughed louder, and said, "Sorry! But this just gave me an idea!" How could this give him an idea? What kind of idea? I just fell and he cushioned my landing. Were we going to be doing something that had to do with falling, and him catching me? That wouldn't be fun, considering the fact that falling hurts and people falling on you hurts too. But… it's Alfred, so I should probably expect something like that.

Alfred laughed again, and said, "I know that your shoulder hurts, but this might be my best idea yet. Why don't we just share the jacket?"

"If this is your best idea yet, then I am worried, Alfred." I joked.

"No! No!" he laughed, still holding me on top of him, "I mean. You can have one arm of the jacket and I'll have the other, and we can sleep like we did last night. It could be like a blanket for us, and conserve body heat!" I stared at him for a second. That was a pretty great idea. I was also excited to snuggle with him, so I said, "Well that seems like it would take forever to get in place, and I am tired, so let's just go to bed now."

He jumped back up, caring me with him, and said, "Ok! You should probably have the left side for your left shoulder and I can wrap my arm around your right arm without worrying about hurting you!" He brought me over to the corner of the room that we slept in last night. He slipped my left arm carefully into the left sleeve of his bomber jacket. He did the same for his right side.

The bomber jacket was surprisingly comfortable and loose for two people sharing it. Alfred wrapped his left arm around me, and said, "Now we can both be warm!" I blushed and looked away. I looked at his hand that was being concealed from the jacket. It was warm and wrapped around my waist. I couldn't help but put my hand over it as he started to sit down, pulling me down with him.

I looked back up at him to see him blushing with his normal smile spread across his face. "What?" I asked, returning the smile, just slightly less… Alfred. He laid back against the wall like last night, making me come down with him. He said, "Your eyes are shining again. I missed them." "They never left," I muttered, as I laid down next to him, being closer to the wall.

"I meant…" He said, gently rotating my body so he could spoon me, "They are happy. I love seeing your happiness through your eyes. I hate seeing you sad." I felt my cheeks turn a darker shade of red. We laid completely down, him making his body cup my own. I held his hand that was now hanging over my shoulder. He gripped my hand back tightly. In this position I knew for sure that I could trust him. I knew that I was safe.

~*(^^)*~

I woke up in the warm cocoon of Alfred spooning me. I felt his cold, short breaths touch my skin. His coat was a nice blanket around the both of us, and his body heat helped out too. I am truly grateful that he comes up with these great ideas. I tried to move, but a sharp pain in my shoulder told me not to.

I laid still for a few seconds, waiting for the sharp pain that just appeared to go away. I had totally forgotten about my shoulder until now. Alfred's hand of the arm under me was cupping my shoulder, so it didn't touch the ground. I felt like Alfred knew exactly what to do to make me happy and comfortable.

I didn't want to wake him up just yet. I wish we could stay like this forever… minus the hurting shoulder, the murderers, the cold wind, us being stuck outside, the boxcar, and the cut on my face. If we were at his house right now, laying like this on his King sized bed… Wow. That would definitely be the most perfect thing ever.

I looked down at our legs to see that he had put his leg over both of mine, and locked them in a hold between his legs. I didn't mind at all for it was comfortable and I felt protected. Speaking of protected or having to be protected… Where is Matthias and his murdering posse? I didn't care… In fact, I could care less if they ever show up again. I never want them to come near me again.

After last night, I am afraid of what is coming next. He kept saying that he was, "Just getting started". I don't want him to come near me, but I especially don't want him to come near Alfred. I know Alfred feels the same way. I read in a psychology book about how when someone wraps both their arms and legs around you it shows a sign of protectiveness, and that your partner may fear something bad is going to happen to you. It is mainly because in the night they had a dream where something bad happened, and they unconsciously went into that position, but I feel that for Alfred and me, our case is a little more real.

Alfred's breathing started to change, and his left arm shifted a little. I could tell he was waking up. I waited for him to fully wake up, which only took thirty seconds, when he said, "Arthur? Arthur! Good you are ok." "Why wouldn't I be?" I asked, smiling, as I looked up into his barely open, tired, blue eyes.

"Well…" he started, "I had a dream where you were chained up again, but this time there was no mercy. He never stopped torturing you, and you were unconscious. You were bleeding out in almost every area of your body, and I was chained up too so I couldn't do anything. Everything was blurry, and I couldn't breathe. Last thing I saw was them releasing you, and you just falling to the floor de-." I stopped him before he could say anything more. I said, "Nothing like that is going to happen. I am right here, and I will stay here, ok?"

Alfred nodded his head, hastily, and said, "Ok. Can we stay like this a little while longer? I want to treat every moment like it's our last." "Stop thinking like that…" I mumbled, "But yes. I wouldn't mind staying like this a bit more."

He snuggled up closer, if it was possible, so that everything from the top of his chin to the back of my heel touched. He sighed when he was comfortable, and said, "I love you." He nuzzled the top of his nose and mouth into my neck. I was ticklish there, so I started to laugh, trying to hold it in.

When he realized I was ticklish, he laughed at my reactions. "You're ticklish?" he said, almost in a threatening way. I slowly stared to him, and said, "Don't you dare." "Too late!" he yelled and he slipped me under him, and started to tickle my sides near my waist. He was teasing with only his left hand because his right hand was still protecting my shoulder. I love how even in his funny moments, he still thinking about my safety.

I laughed, as I tried pushing him off. My attempts failed because I was so weak and we were attached by a jacket. "Stop! Stop!" I laughed and pleaded. "Not until," he thought for a second, smiling as he was thinking of ideas, "I get a kiss from you!" "Oh you bastard!" I said jokingly, as I lightly punch his chest above me.

He laughed along with me. I stopped, and smiled at him, "Fine!" I blushed, but I didn't have time to feel the heat on my cheeks before Alfred did a push up, kissing me when he lowered. He stayed in his planking position. I don't know how he did that. I would fall after two seconds, but he stayed there for at least thirty seconds, just pressing his lips against mine.

When we broke it, he said, "Have I told you how much I love you?" "Once or twice," I joked. "That just won't do. I have known you for what, five days now? I should have told you at least… Fifteen-thousand one-hundred and thirty-two times. I have some catching up to do, don't I?" He joked. "Well then you better start now," I replied back.

His smile increased if possible. Then he lightly laid on top of me, and brought his left hand to my hair, brushing it out of my face. He kissed my lips for a short second, and said, "I love you!" He kissed my unscarred cheek, and said again, "I love you!" He repeated this over and over again, kissing various parts of my face and neck.

"What number am I at now?" he asked, gasping for breath. "Thirty-seven I think. A few more to go," I joked. "Really? Oh! I'll just save the rest for tonight," he said, smiling like he had some evil plan. I blushed and looked away. He rolled off of me, still holding my shoulder.

Gosh, I love him! "Alfred?" I said, looking at the ceiling of the boxcar. "Ya?" he responded.

"Can you do me a favor and help me turn on my side so I can face you?"

"Sure," he said, turning me so I could see his face. He turned to face me also, "Why?"

"Because," I said, wrapping my arm around him, "I don't want you to have all the fun!"

I pulled myself up to his lips, and surprised him with a kiss. At first I couldn't feel him kiss back. I was worried he didn't like it because I wasn't always the best kisser, but then I felt his hands on my cheeks, and his lips return my actions.

I pulled away to say, "I love you!" but was soon pulled back into a kiss by him. He scooted closer, touching his chest to mine. He smiled on my lips, and said, "I want to be with you forever, ok?" I smiled, "Ok." He rolled onto his back, pulling me with him, so it would be easier to kiss me.

Half way into doing this action, I felt my shoulder shoot a pain that went throughout my neck, chest, and arm. I cried from the now long lasting, sharp pain going through the upper half of my body. Alfred freaked out, putting me back into my place. "I am so sorry! I lost myself, and forgot about your shoulder." "Its fine," I say trying to forget about the pain. What's worse is that I haven't eaten in days.

At first it didn't bother me, because I was being distracted by Alfred, but now with the pain in my upper body, I feel like I am going to throw up. I tried breathing slowly, but I couldn't do anything but hyperventilate. "It's going to be ok. Everything is going to be fine. Just please hang on, ok?" Alfred yelled to me, but it all sounded muffled, just like my vision.

"I'm not dying you bloody git. It's just this damned shoulder. Just wait one second," I said, slurring my words. I tried my best to dictate more, but I was shivering for many reasons, and my teeth were chattering. I felt tears on my face. Were those mine or Alfred's?

I closed my eyes, and started to feel my mind go to rest. I was only falling asleep. At least I felt like I was going to sleep. I certainly didn't feel like I was dying, but what did dying feel like?

**A/N: I am so sorry I didn't post this yesterday. I was *insert typical excuse here* and that is why I didn't post it. I am sorry… please don't hurt me! I didn't get many reviews last chapter, and that was disappointing… thank you to those who reviewed though. YOU DA BOMB. So anyway, this chapter was kind of a filler chapter. I basically decided to not make Alfred the bad guy because this is a USUK fic, and I just can't see Arthur falling for Alfred if he is worse than Hans *COUGH COUGH* (The jerk from Frozen) *COUGH COUGH* Next chapter will be posted this weekend! I want to space them out now because I want this to last longer! PLEASE REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Thank you**


	8. No Pain

***Plays the song, 'Guess who's back'"**

**A/N: Hey guys! I am finally back! It's been a while hasn't it? He... He… *Backs away***

**A/N: Sooo a few things happened over these last few weeks. **

**My computer is stupid and restarted, and I am also equally as stupid, and I never actually saved this story, so EVERYTHING got deleted…**

**My mom got remarried. Yay!**

**I moved.**

**A/N: So I didn't leave you guys just because I was bored with the story. I left for a while for legit reasons. I would like to thank a few people for actually getting me back on here though. You guys know who you are. I would really like to thank all of you though. So, ya! Enjoy!**

**No Pain**

I woke up as hazy as I was when I fell asleep. I remembered everything though. Alfred… giving his jacket to me and hugging me. That was nice. If we were back in a safe place, I would be going for a cup of tea right about now. MMMMmmmm tea.

I shouldn't be thinking about tea right now, because I don't want to torture myself about how I might not be able to drink tea for a long while. Ugh. I would be so happy if those stupid Americans didn't have to be such morons and hold me and Alfred for ransom.

Speaking of Alfred, I don't have the feeling of him hugging me right now. In fact, I don't even feel like I am laying down. "I don't think you get it," I heard a loud voice that sounded like Matthias, said, "He doesn't believe you. Your strong headed British friend will never believe you after all the 'proof' he just saw! We win!"

I then realized that I was chained up in the position I was in last night. Oh no. I wasn't going to get tortured again, was I? Of course, stupid. Of course, I am going to get tortured. That is the whole entire reason why I am here…

"I guess you'll just find out when he wakes up," I heard Alfred smirk.

I guess this was my cue. I acted like I was all groggy, and waking up. I started to flutter my eyes and shake my head, you know, the normal 'I just woke up' way.

I then opened my eyes completely, and looked around. I looked the opposite way to them first, and then to them. I had this whole act planned in my mind. I have to admit, I am a pretty good actor, but when I saw Alfred… let's just say things didn't go quite as planned.

His hair went from a strawberry blonde to a crimson red due to all the blood pouring out of his head and onto his hair. His face wasn't any better than his hair. Everything was crimson red. Could one really be alive with that much blood out of them?

He had already formed a black eye, and he had deep cuts around his abdomen and arms. He looked like he had gotten mercilessly mutilated by them. His lip was busted, his cheek was internally bleeding, and his neck was cut just deep enough to pierce his skin.

He was chained up just like me, but was facing me on the other wall. There was a big pile of blood at his chain feet, and he was adding on to the pile as he spit blood out of his mouth.

I am not the biggest fan of blood, so…. I passed out. I PASSED out. That literally bloody wanker spoiled my plan. I was going to be a hero, but I was too late. Why didn't anyone wake me up?

Ugh… everyone is such an idiot.

Round two of waking up was much more painful than the last. Let's just say that my alarm clock was them stabbing me just above the knee cap. I screamed, as I was brought to my senses, and my vocal chords felt like they were rubbing together, creating fire and blood in my through.

When I was done letting out my pain through sounds, I started to heavily breathe to concentrate my mind on something else. I was not crying this time though. I held it all in. I learned that crying just makes everything worse for everyone.

I heard Alfred say, "Please stop hurting him. I told you, you could do whatever you want to me, just you can't hurt him!" I looked to him, and started to shake my head, rapidly. I hope he noticed that I was trying to tell him to stop. This wasn't going to be good for either of us, if he did that. I may be an amateur, but I at least know that.

I looked up to see Matthias admiring his newly bloody knife. "You truly are fun to torture, Mr. Kirkland. Do you have any idea how fun it was torturing Mr. Jones?" he said, wiping the blood of the knife onto my cheek.

I let him do so, but keeping a face of disgust. When he was done I said, "Give it up, Matthias. I will believe Alfred over you any day." I smiled, forgetting about the pain in my leg. I thought that this would somehow scare him in a way, but the result was him just laughing at me.

"What is it, moron?" I bravely said, frowning at his laughter. He then stopped laughing, like I didn't get his joke, and said, "Oh, Arthur. Do British people not have a sense of humor? Here, hold this." He flew his arm with the knife into the air, and was about to jab it down into the same shoulder he stabbed recently, but then stopped two inches away from its landing.

I guess he could see the fear in my eyes, because he started to laugh again. "Ha! I am kidding! I have a special kind of torture for the both of you tonight!" he sang, as he started to walk back to Alfred, who was watching the both of us in shock.

I guess he was as shocked as I was about the recent 'joke' that Matthias had made. I snapped out of it to listen to what he had planned for us.

When he walked completely over to Alfred, he said, "You see, I had a feeling that you guys would stick together through thick in thin, so I devised a special kind of torture for you two! Alfred here, is going to be the one torture you, Arthur. I guess you could say that now, he really is the bad guy."

"I will never do that," Alfred said, spitting blood as he spoke those words. "Oh but you will," Matthias said, grabbing Alfred's bloody chin by his hand, "Because if you don't, I will. And trust me, my torture is a lot more painful, don't you think so?"

Alfred stared at him with fiery hatred in his sky blue eyes. I felt like if he was unleashed this second from the chains, Matthias would be mauled to the ground by him and eaten alive. Ok… maybe not eaten alive, but I am pretty sure Alfred was thinking about ways to kill Matthias right now.

I know I was…

When Matthias let his firm grip on Alfred's chin go, Alfred let his head drop again. He shook it a few times, as if he was having an inner war with himself, then said, "Artie, are you ok with this? It doesn't seem like I have a choice."

A.R.T.I.E. I would stab him if he was any other person calling me such a horrid nickname, but since it is him, I won't stab him. I also won't let it slide though, either. I had to let it go FOR NOW though, because now was not the time.

"Ya, ya…" I said, thinking about the question he just asked, "I would rather it be you." "Great!" Matthias said, raising his arms in the air above his head, "Now, Alfred, do exactly what I tell you to do, or else I blow your boyfriend's head to bits."

Alfred shook his head, but stayed silent. He had changed so much since when I first met him. Who knew people could dramatically change over such a short course of time?

Matthias unchained Alfred, as Alfred just stared at the ground, and let Matthias lead him everywhere. Matthias then gave him the knife, and said, "I want you to…. Carve a letter of your choice in the middle Arthur's chest."

I glared at Matthias who was mainly paying attention to Alfred. He was leaned up against a table with his arm crossed in front of his chest. He had a smile on his face that I want to just slap off or something. I probably wouldn't be strong enough to do that, but I bet Alfred would be honored to do that for me.

I then paid my attention to Alfred who was right in front of me. He stared me in the eyes, and said, "I am so sorry." God, sometimes he was such a moron. This obviously wasn't his fault.

When I told him, he just said, "I am sorry for the pain that I am about to cause though. I cannot think of any way to make this easier for you. I am truly sorry." "Stop being sorry. I know there has to be some way you can make me forget about pain. You made me forget about it last night, you know."

I wasn't actually implying that he cuddle me, as he cuts a random letter into my skin, but his face lit up like he had an idea, and he said, "I know what to do! I love you, Artie!" He really knows how to ruin a moment, doesn't he?

"…stupid," I joked.

Then, out of the blue, he smacked his lips against mine in such a harsh, yet loving, way. I then felt the blade piercing my chest as it sank deeper into my skin. It didn't hurt though. I just… _felt_ it. His kiss was actually making me forget about the pain.

I was lucky that he was a good kisser because when he started to drag the knife down in a slanted line, I was started to feel the tiniest bit of pain. Ok, maybe a lot more than a tiny bit. I winced on his lips. Once he realized that his kiss wasn't working anymore, he used his free arm to make its way around my waist.

He pulled me closer to him, as he made another slanted like going the other direction. He kissed harder and more passionately the longer he was cutting me. Our stomachs touched, and he rubbed his hand around my back in circles.

I was so involved in the kiss, I didn't even realize that he was still cutting me. When he finally let go of me though, I then felt the pain. It was so much at one time, I wanted to just bend over and clutch my chest, but I couldn't.

I instead just leaned over and shut my eyes tight to try and focus on something else. What letter did he write on my chest? The curiosity got a hold of me, and I looked at my chest. Upside down, I saw the letter, 'A'. I guess that made sense, since it was both of our initials. I guess it was something that I could live with for the rest of my life.

"Are you okay, Arthur?" Alfred said, putting his hand on my bent over back. "Ya, ya, I'm fine," I choked, "I just need a minute."

I then felt the weight of his hand lift off my back. I heard him say, "Ok, Matthias. I tortured him enough. Can you stop this, now?"

"This is barely torture. I didn't even here Arthur wince from the pain," Matthias admitted, "So, is it when you two kiss, all the pain just… goes away?"

Both Alfred and I didn't answer, choosing silence as our best option. Matthias then laughed again, "Well, on with the show I guess if you two won't talk to me."

Hmm. Do you ever feel like you just made a big mistake? Yes…. I think that was how Alfred and I were feeling at this moment. We still didn't speak though. If that was a trick, we were good by not giving into it.

Matthias took it all in, and said, "For my next request, I want you to…punch Arthur as hard as you can. If I see any restraining of power from your dominant arm, then I am going to shoot him multiple times just until he is on the break of dying, got that?"

Alfred stared at me. I knew that we probably couldn't kiss during that. At least it probably wasn't as bad as getting carved into like a piece of wood.

I nodded, and said, "Alfred, do it as fast as you can so I can just get it over with." I knew he was wanting to stall, as long as possible to do this, but it would be better if it was over as soon as possible.

I closed my eyes and awaited the pain. I could already hear his forced speeding through the air at my face. He wasn't holding back. He couldn't hold back.

Just in a matter of seconds, I felt the pressure of his strong force collide with my face. I felt like everything in the area went numb for a few seconds, then all of my senses started to feel the real pain.

My skin where he punched me started to tingle, and a massive headache started to form behind my eye socket. I felt like my cheek bone was being run over by a tire, but still wasn't cracking. I looked up at him, to see that he was staring at his hand with fear in his eyes.

He looked at it with his mouth wide open, then stared to me. "I-I," he stuttered, "I h-hurt you."

"Ya," I said, rolling my mouth, so I could feel my jaw a little better under the tingling pains, "You had to. I thought we already established that."

"I know but," he started, because he was cut off by Matthias. "Uggh, you two are so boring!" he yelled sitting up from the table, "This isn't a soap opera, you know. I think it is Arthur's turn though to have some of the fun."

"What?" I dissented, "Please, no. I liked it just like this!" I felt better being the one in pain rather than causing pain. I bet that is how Alfred feels though.

Matthias grabbed the willing Alfred, and easily changed him up again. That was when he released me from my chains, and roughly handed me the same blow torch he used on me the other night. He said, "If you try anything, boy, you can kiss Alfred goodbye."

I nodded my head, finding that talking back wasn't the best option right now. I limped using my left leg, because my right leg was still in pain from the stab wound that woke me up earlier. I put my hand over my bare chest to somehow escape the pain that was made from Alfred carving into me. The pain from his punch was nothing compared to the latter pains.

I faced Alfred, who still looked like he had just killed somebody, and mentally prepared myself for anything that was coming my way.

Matthias got back into his position on the table, and said, "Now, Arthur, I want you to burn Alfred in one area for five minutes. Don't worry, I will count fairly. The next torture will actually work in Alfred's favor if this goes well, ok?"

At first, I stayed silent, processing everything he told me to do. When the realization finally hit me, I stared at Alfred, who looked like he didn't hear a word Mathias just said. Now the tears started to fall from my eyes. I didn't want to hurt Alfred. This was the last thing I wanted to do. In fact, I was about to ask him if we could trade places, but I knew that wouldn't end up well.

Alfred finally looked up at me, and closed his eyes. He said, "What makes you pain go away works for me too." He gave a weak smile, almost as if he had just made a joke in such a terrible time. I knew he was serious though, and I was definitely going to pay him back for what he did for me.

I looked to Matthias to see if he was ready to count. He nodded in consent, and motioned me to go on. I looked back at Alfred, and got my blow torch ready.

There was one simple trigger that I was supposed to hit to turn on, and that was it. I had to hold onto it for five minutes, while kissing Alfred to make him focus on me and not the pain. This wasn't going to be so hard, right?

Ok… I took a deep breath, and put my hand on the blow torch trigger. You got this. Alfred didn't have a shirt on anymore (neither did I, but I didn't have one since the last torture session) so I didn't have to worry about anything catching on fire.

I grabbed a hold of a very small part of his back that wasn't injured with my free hand, and asked, "Are you ready?" He nodded his head, as he stared me in the eyes. I positioned my blow torch near the front of his waist, and pressed our lips together softly.

This was the short, passionate kiss before the storm. I whispered on Alfred's lips, "I love you," and released the flames.

He screamed after a few seconds of the fire entering his skin, but I sucked the scream up immediately by roughly pressing our lips together. At first, I was only doing it to distract him, and to conceal his screams, but once he kissed back, I felt like it was starting to be like a real kiss.

I could feel his sweat dripping off his forehead to my face, and I could feel the flames actually start to burn me to, because I was also close, but I didn't care. He was going through much worse. I rubbed up and down his back with my hand, trying to avoid his injuries.

I did everything in my power to make him forget about the pain he was now endearing. It started to become hard to breathe with the lack of breath and the pain the two of us were going through. I felt like Matthias was probably done with his five minutes an hour ago.

Just then, I heard him yell, "Times up!" I released the trigger on the blow torch, but I did not release the kiss. I knew that he would feel a lot of pain if I let go of his lips. I instead dropped the blow torch, and moved my newly free hand up to his cheek.

I wipe his tears away with my thumb, and brushed his sweaty hair back. I then finally rested my hand on his cheek, as I put more passion into the kiss. Alfred pulled a little bit out of the kiss, and said, "Thank you so much, Arthur."

"Stupid," I smiled, and kissed him again, but this time softer. Matthias then abruptly grabbed me by my shoulder making me wince in pain. Alfred noticed this, and opened his eyes, yelling, "Arthur!"

Matthias then put my hands behind my back, and chained them together. He had a couple more chains in his hands, as he said, "Well, you two certainly never seize to entertain me."

Alfred and I looked at each other than back at Matthias. This was when I got a real look at Alfred, and what I did to him. I gasped when I realized that I made a small third degree burn on his lower abdomen. How the bloody hell was he still conscious from all that pain?

He looked like a wreck. We both looked like wrecks. He looked worse though. I can't believe that we both turned out this way. Matthias could sense what was going on in my mind and possibly Alfred's.

He then yanked my by chains that were connected to my hands, and said, "Are you guys ready for the last and final torture for tonight?"

**A/N: Cliffhanger! Please don't kill me. Sorry this is a short chapter, I am still in the process of moving. I am going to upload every Saturday now. I just needed to get my life in order. Now that I am pretty organized, my chapters are going to be organized too! So ya. I guess you will just have to find out what the last torture is next week… Sorry! I like reviews! Bye.**


	9. Crimson Snow

_A/N: Hola everyone! Spring break is here, and I am super excited! What are you guys doing for spring break? Tell me in your reviews!_

_A/N: By the way, I am on a plane writing this, and I am so afraid that the person next to me or behind me is reading what I write. I promise I am sane! Not really… but whatever. Enjoy __J_

_A/N: Also, I was on a boat, and I was reading fanfiction. I didn't realize that this guy that I didn't know, was looking at my phone, and was starting to read the fanfiction. I looked up at him, and he stared awkwardly at me, like I just caught him murdering someone. It was hilarious, but I was praising the Lord that I was reading a 'society acceptable' part of the story, when he decided to be nosey. Who knows, maybe he enjoyed it, and he is going to go on this website now…_

**Crimson Snow**

"No! Please don't take him away from me!" Alfred cried, losing all strength to hold himself up, "Please don't do this!" Matthias started to drag me out of the boxcar by my chains, as I said, "Alfred it will all be ok. I will see you tomorrow!"

Matthias laughed as I stumbled to the ground. He started to drag me farther, and said, "You are going to see him much sooner! He is coming with you, but only if you cooperate."

I didn't know what I should do. Should I start to struggle, so Alfred didn't have to come, or let the man drag me out, and get to see Alfred? Seeing him would make it easier for me when going through whatever torture Matthias had planned for me…

No! No, bloody hell, Arthur. Stop being so selfish. Alfred needs to stay here and be safe. He has been through too much! I started to struggle, so Alfred wouldn't have to come, but instead of Matthias going through with his threats, he kicked me in my stomach, making my wind break.

I gasped for breath, but I couldn't find any air to breathe in. I pulled myself up as much as I could, but fell to the ground again. Matthias then forced me up, and started dragging me out.

As he roughly grabbed my shoulders to pull me out, he said, "I lied. Alfred doesn't have a choice. He is coming with you whether you like it or not," He started to laugh, as he got closer to the exit.

I looked back to Alfred who was hanging from his chains. Alfred was crying as he watched me being dragged away. I looked down to the part of his waist that was burned. It was red all around, and some parts were spotted brown.

I wanted to throw up at the sight of what I did to him. Would he ever forgive me? I should have chosen a better spot. A spot that would hurt less. Or bloody hell, a spot that wouldn't hurt every time he put a shirt on. Did burns go away? I once burned my hand when making tea. It hurt, but I didn't feel it the day after.

So that kind of burn went away, but what about a burn that should have at least made him go unconscious? I swear, Alfred is like some sort of superman. I am starting to freak myself out. I didn't cause this. Matthias did. He was the one forcing me to do this. I couldn't stand up to him because he had a gun. I hope Alfred knows that what he did to me was Matthias' fault too.

Matthias opened the exit of the boxcar, and pulled me out behind him. The outside was freezing cold, and the night sky was covered by flurries of snow. The freezing air blew against my bare back, and every touch of snow felt like a paper cut on my skin.

I gained the talent of breathing again when the wind forced me to breathe in its icy scent in. The cold covered me in a painful embrace, as Matthias walked me to an opening of the snowy woods.

He shoved me against the first tree he saw, and punch my stomach, making me topple over onto the ground. The sensation inside of my chest made me want to throw up. Adrenaline kicked into my system though, and forced me to get up I got up again, also because I wasn't going to give up that easy. Bloody Hell, I am stronger than that.

I got back up just to be immediately punch again in the stomach. Right at the contact of his fist, I threw up blood, and fell to the ground again. I stared at the now crimson snow, and looked up to Matthias. He didn't give me time to even think about getting up again, because he kicked up to the side of the tree, and said, "Stay here. I'm going to go get Alfred."

I felt like I was a dog that had just been kicked for no reason. I guess I was though. I was just this man's pet, which he tortured with no reason at all. I fell completely into the snow as he walked away. I felt tears in my eyes begin to fall, burning my skin on the way down my raw cheek. Why was I crying? This was nothing compared to what happened to me yesterday.

Wait… I wasn't crying because of the pain. In fact, my body was starting to go numb thanks to the cold. I was crying because I felt helpless. I couldn't save myself. I couldn't save Alfred. I was weak.

I realized that I could have been running far away from here right now, because no one could stop me. I just couldn't bring myself to move, though. I couldn't leave Alfred either. They could kill him if I left to at least get help. I couldn't take the risk.

I started to shiver in the cold, because it was starting to get to me. I waited in the snow for him to bring Alfred out. Alfred was walking very slowly due to the burn that… I caused. After a while of what felt like waiting forever, they both finally made their way over to the tree where I was waiting.

"Arthur!" Alfred cried, increasing his pace, but then decreasing due to probably a sharp pain somewhere in his body. I nodded, and spit out blood that was lingering in my mouth. When Alfred saw this, he glared at Matthias who was lost in thought.

He then snapped out of it at that second, and threw Alfred down next to me with great force. Alfred winced loudly at the pain, and held onto his burned skin. Matthias looked at the both of us, and smirked, almost like he was proud of himself.

He started to walk back to the boxcar as he said, "Stay put while I get one more thing. I don't think I need to repeat the consequences of disobedience." Alfred and I both knew what the consequences were, and we both knew we would be too weak to escape it.

We both watched in silence as Matthias made his way back into the boxcar, and left our sight. I sighed when I couldn't see him anymore. I didn't even realize I was holding my breath either. Alfred turned to me, and said, "Are you ok? What did he do to you?"

I ached all over, even though the freezing cold was numbing my body, little by little. I wanted to talk to Alfred, and say nothing was wrong, but I couldn't speak. At all. Just the tiniest pressure on my diaphragm would hurt. I managed to get out two words though, as the pain struck my abdomen, "No More."

What was I saying? 'No more'? I could hear the hesitation in his breaths, as he tried to find the words to say. He finally asked, "No more? What do you mean, Artie?" I shook my head, because I didn't know what I exactly meant either.

I didn't know if I had the strength to explain myself either. For once, I was actually happy to see Matthias walking back to us. Of course that feeling was short lasted when I saw he was holding long chains that fell to the snowy ground, and dragged behind him.

Alfred looked over to me, and faintly said, "I get it now."

What? How did he get it? I was still trying to find an explanation myself. Before I could think about any conclusion that Alfred could have come to, I felt the great power of chains smack me across the face.

My jaw bone tingled until it went completely numb again from the temperature. I hid my face for a moment, because I was scared that if I would look up, he would hit me again. I didn't hear Alfred say anything. I just heard another sound of the chains flying in the air towards his face.

I heard the smack against his skin, and I felt like that hit hurt me more than it hurt him. I looked at him to see that the chains left a small cut on the outer skin of his jaw bone. He looked up at me, then back down, almost like he was ashamed.

Why would he be-? I felt blood trickle down my neck from my jaw bone which stopped tingling by now. Was I cut too? My thoughts were interrupted by the loud laughter that Matthias produced. It filled the cold air, and left an evil echo in the wind.

He unchained both of our hands, and told us to leave them at our side. Of course, he also said his traditional threat after the command. He then started to wrap us to the tree using the long chains he held. When there was no more chain to wrap around us, he connected the end to a different chain, and locked it. He then stood back, and started to laugh.

The chains were tight around me, and I could feel the rough edges cutting my skin. I looked to Alfred, and I could see him struggling to hold his cries of pain in, as the chains rubbed roughly against his burn.

I struggled, but managed, to lean over and rest my forehead on his shoulder. He winced a little bit at the contact, but soon relaxed after a few seconds. I didn't want to cry. I wasn't going to cry. I just didn't want to see Alfred like this.

Why did I even bloody care about a guy I just met though? What was so important about him? Why was I on the brink of crying because he was in pain? Why was him being in pain, breaking my heart little by little?

"I love you," I heard him faintly whisper, so I could just barely hear him. Of course… That was why. I loved him, and he loved me. Was this all going to fast? I don't know, yet I don't care.

"I love you too, stupid," I laughed and cried on his shoulder. I kissed his shoulder, and got up before Matthias got back around to start talking again.

When he stood in front of us, he asked, "Is it cold guys?" He laughed, causing me to use every fiber in my body to not scream at him for being such an idiot.

Matthias continued when we didn't answer. He said, "This is my last punishment! It is truly a wonderful night to freeze to death, isn't it? Of course, I won't let you guys actually die… We are going to go through one last fun torture session, and then your dead bodies will be thrown into a ditch near a busy road, so your families can burry you!"

"But my mom-!" I yelled, not knowing exactly where I was going with this, "Didn't you tell her to pay money? Didn't she?"

I totally forgot about my mom until I just blurted those words out. I felt embarrassed that the one time I remember my mom, it was about her paying money for me.

Alfred looked at me like he just remembered about the ransom money too, though. Matthias said, "Ah… I realized that your mom lives a pretty far distance away from here, so I decided to ditch the idea. Plus, I was having too much fun torturing you! In fact, it will be even more fun now that I realize there doesn't have to be limits."

I stared at Matthias, too bewildered to say anything. What the bloody hell was wrong with him? When was it supposed to be fun to torture people? I was so caught up in thinking about what could possibly be wrong with this guy, when I realized that he had already walked away.

The door to his boxcar slammed shut, and Alfred shook me out of my thoughts. "Arthur are you ok?" he said, but then looked down when he looked up at my face again, "Sorry… That was a stupid question."

"Yes it was stupid," I retorted, "but thank you for asking." He laughed a little, but didn't look back up at me.

"Wow," I said, filling in the awkward silence that started to form between us, "We probably look like a wreck." I laughed a little, even though what I said wasn't that funny. I knew Alfred probably would say something like that, but he just stayed silent.

"Alfred?" I said, looking at him, as he stared at the ground, "Are you ok?" He just shook his head, and kept staring at the ground. "No, no, not really," he choked out.

After he said those four words, tears started to roll down his cheeks as he started to choke out small cries. I immediately wanted to make everything right. I didn't like seeing him cry. This whole entire time, he has been there for me, and to be honest, I don't want to have to be there for him. I want him to always be that happy, slightly annoying, American I met at the airport.

Of course, that could never happen. Even if all this never happened. There will be ups and there will be downs, and if I love him, I will be there for him. Now was my chance.

I managed to get my arms out of the chains, which wasn't very surprising since I was so skinny. I immediately and carefully wrapped my arms around his shoulders. I didn't want to go anywhere under them, though. I didn't want to touch where I hurt him. I didn't want to be reminded of the immense pain I caused him.

He almost immediately collapsed into my embrace, and let everything out. Apparently he was holding in a lot, because I was starting to worry Matthias would hear him from inside the boxcar. I said simple things to calm Alfred down, such as, 'Shhh, it's ok' and 'let everything out. I am here."

Alfred would also give responses sometimes, like, 'I just wanted to be a hero' or 'I hurt you. I don't deserve you'.

He was being stupid. This wasn't his fault. He should have known that since I told him probably fifteen times now. I didn't tell him this though. How could I? I needed to make him feel better, not cry more.

He managed to get his arms out of the chains, which was actually very surprising, since he was so muscular. He wrapped his arms around me, and said, "We need to get out of here. I agree. No more."

I felt his tears drip onto my shoulder, as he cried out. His sobs didn't quiet down until minutes after he said the words that explained 'no more'. I rubbed circles around his back, as I thought about his words in my head.

I looked down to him when I felt his finger on my chest. It was outlining the 'A' that he carved in earlier. "What is it?" I whispered, looking down at my chest as his finger brushed down my chest next to the 'A'.

He didn't answer for a few seconds. He just stared at the 'A' and lingered his finger over my chest. He then whispered, "I-I hurt y-you."

This again? Why can't he accept the fact that he didn't hurt me, and it was all technically Matthias? "You had no choice. It was Matthias that hurt me; not you."

He looked up at me, and said, "I-I know… I know, but I-I should have done something. I had the knife I could have-!" "And he had the gun. You couldn't do anything. You would only make things worse if you tried anything with him. You knew that, and that is why you are a hero," I interrupted him.

I knew where he was going with his last comment. I knew he wanted to be a hero. I knew that I had to get it through his head that sometimes being a hero is doing the logical thing in a situation that doesn't get us both killed.

He looked up to me again, and said, "I p-promise, Artie… I will never hurt you again." I smiled, and said, "And if he makes you do that again, remember he is the one hurting me. Not you."

Alfred smiled softly, but started to slowly drift to sleep on my shoulder. I was glad he was getting to escape the pain. I can't imagine how much of it he was feeling. I am almost jealous, yet I am getting tired too.

My eyelids started to get heavy as the cold wind blew around me. I looked down at Alfred who was fast asleep in my arms. His warm body was like a blanket to mine. As I finally started to drift off to sleep, I looked up and thought, 'Either let both of us wake up tomorrow, or let both of us die tonight. I just don't want to live without Alfred.'

Those words came straight from my heart. I meant every last word of that phrase. I didn't want to live without Alfred, and I won't. No matter what. I looked down at Alfred, so that he was the last thing I saw before the darkness of unconsciousness filled my eyes and mind.

_A/N: I am so sorry I posted this a day late! I am out of the country, and at first I was afraid to use the Wi-Fi. My friend told me that it wasn't money to use the Wi-Fi on a computer at least, so I immediately posted this. Sorry for the inconvenience!_

_Review!_


	10. No More

_A/N: Hey Everyone! I am finally in a place with stable Wi-Fi! Though I had sooooo much fun in the Bahamas… it is nice to be back home. I just have to do A LOT of laundry now… _

_A/N: I had mixed feelings in the reviews about all this torture. It was nice hearing your feed-back and how you felt about everything so far. I decided that I am going to grant both of the 'side's' wishes. It is just one side is going to have to wait a while to get their wish. If any of that made since, then you are immortal. Lol. Enjoy this chapter and Review at the end!_

**No More**

_"__I get it Arthur. No more," Alfred said to me, as Matthias prepared his weapon for the final torture, "I just don't know how." _

_I stared at his bloody, beaten up face as he stared back at mine. We were still in the cold, and I couldn't feel my legs. I tried to move around under the chains, but nothing in my body obeyed the actions that my brain was telling it to do. _

_"__Alfred?" I called out to him, as the wind picked up around us. He whispered back, "Yes?"_

_"__Could no more mean… No more of us? I-I am done. I can't move, and he is going to kill us. Alfred, I give up," I said. I didn't want to say that! What was I saying? I felt like I couldn't control my words. I couldn't control what was happening._

_"__I do too," he replied, smiling. That wasn't like him either! What was going on? He would never give up. He would keep trying until his heart stops beating. He is the hero! He is 'my' hero. _

_I heard the noise of a door slam, and looked towards the abandoned row of boxcars. Matthias was walking to us with a knife and a sinister grin across his face._

_I looked to Alfred to see him smiling. His eyes started to close, as he whispered, "No more!" _

_What? Was he giving up without me? "No, No, No, No, NO! Alfred please don't leave me here alone. You can't die! I need you! Please don't give up. We – I – You can't just leave me here!" I started to beg and plead, with tears falling from my eyes._

_Alfred was giving up. He was dying. He was leaving me here alone. I – I – I – want to give up-!_

_I didn't even notice how close Matthias got to the both of us, until he sunk his blade into my chest. "Alfred!" I called out as my last words. The physical pain was no match for my mental pain at this point. It was almost as if there was no pain at all from the knife. My mind started to go black, as-_

**I woke up. **

I was hyperventilating as I started to process the world around me. It was just a dream. A horrible, terrible dream. In the dim light of the sun just starting to rise, I looked down at Alfred who was still laying in my arms. My legs had gone numb due to his weight, so I guess that is why I couldn't move in my dream.

"Alfred?" I said to him, my voice shaking, making it almost a whisper. I moved my cold hands up his back, and said louder, "Alfred, please wake up."

I needed to know if he was alive. If he didn't give up.

To my relief, he shifted his body a little bit, and stared up at me with a small smile on his face. When his eyes landed on mine though, he frowned again, and looked down.

"Today is our last day, huh?" he mumbled, as he rested his cold face on my chest.

Even though he hadn't completely given up on living, the way he was acting was as if he had given up a long time ago. Now he was just going through the motions.

In an attempt to cheer him up, I said, "Oh, don't give up so easily. Who knows, maybe the final torture is for us to be forced to listen to terrible music for at least an hour a day for the rest of our lives."

I feel like I was trying to assure myself to not give up more than him.

I laughed a little at my droll joke, but smiled softly when I heard Alfred laugh along with me. He looked back up again at me, this time not losing his smile, and said, "This is one of the reasons why I love you."

He wrapped his arms around my back, making me shiver when his cold hands touched my skin. He pulled himself up higher to me, and lightly pressed his lips against mine.

This was much gentler than any of his other kisses, but I don't think either of us were strong enough for anything rougher. It was short lasting too, because both of us were weak, but it was still sweet.

When he pulled away, he switched our positions in one swift move, where I was leaning against him now. Surprised by the abrupt change in positions, I said, "Ah, so you have your optimism back?"

"Oh ya. I have a feeling we are going to get out of here." he replied, wrapping his arms around me, as I laid in his embrace.

"That's my hero," I said into his chest.

There was a sudden silence between us though. It was one that was unsettling since usually when I mentioned a hero, Alfred would get annoyingly enthusiastic. But this time, I could hear his heart beat get slower underneath my ear, and his chest relaxed a bit more.

"I…I don't think I want to be a hero anymore, Artie," he finally admitted, as he rested his chin on top of my hair. What? Just when I was starting to think that maybe he didn't give up after all…

"What? Why? That is who you are!" I protested, looking up at him, staring straight into those sky blue eyes.

He stared back into my eyes, and said, "I know, but look at where that has gotten us. We wouldn't be here, if I didn't try to act like such a hero."

"No," I said, closing my eyes and shaking my head, "No, you are wrong. Thanks to you being a hero, we made it this far. We probably would have died back at the gas station if it weren't for you."

He smiled a little bit, but it wasn't his normal smile. It was more… sad, like he was only putting on a show for me.

He was always acting like a hero without realizing it.

He closed his eyes, and breathed out, saying, "I am starting to wish that we did die back at the gas station, if we couldn't avoid them at all, of course."

There it was. The proof that he had given up. His wish for death was just thrown at me like a bag of bricks to the face. And just as fast as he said his last statement, I started to cry into his chest. I didn't care if he liked it or not. He was the reason I was crying.

Seeing such a strong, brave person like him give up, broke me completely.

I couldn't hold any of my emotions in when I was around him, dammit. This was all too much now. At least when I was being tortured, I had him to look to. I had him to assure me everything was ok. But now, my oar that I was barely holding onto in the rapid waters was sinking, and I was sinking with him.

"Arthur. Arthur?" I heard Alfred say, as he brushed his fingers through my hair. I looked up at him, unknowing of my tear stained face and tired eyes. His breath was hitched when he saw the sight of me.

He then asked, "What is wrong? Why are you crying?" He brushed my hair out of my face, and used his other hand to gently wipe away some of my tears with his thumb.

I was about to answer him, but I choked up on my words, and started to cry again into his hands.

"Dammit, why is this so hard?" I strained to whisper, as I cried.

He moved his arms around my back, and pulled me close into his chest again. As he rocked me back and forth, he whispered, "Shh, its ok. Tell me on your own time, ok?"

"Ok," I whispered, trying to avoid his burned spot on his stomach, but it was too close to me. I then thought of something. "No," I said, starting to get up, as I wiped more tears from my eyes, "We don't have time. We have to get out of here, now."

Alfred gave his fake smile, again, and said, "That is a great thought, Artie, but how exactly could we get out of here, and where would we go?"

"That is exactly what a person who has given up would say! Oh shoot, I am turning into you, Alfred. You better become the hero soon, or else I will make it so you wish you were the hero so you could save yourself," I joked, smiling slyly at him, though tears were still running down my face.

He laughed a little, and said, "Ok, ok. I get it! So, what is your plan?"

I looked around to see if any lights were on in Matthias' boxcar. It was completely dark and quiet, so we still had time to at least try to escape. It's not like we had anything to lose, right?

I turned to Alfred, and whispered, "I think if I try hard enough, I can get out of these chains. If I am out, then you will have no problem getting out too. After that, we just run. We have to be near some kind of road or rail road station for there to be boxcars, right? We can get help there!"

Alfred hesitated for a moment, as he gathered his thoughts. When he finally figured out the words to say, he warned, "Ok, but when you are getting out of the chains, they are sharp. You can get really hurt, so be careful ok?"

"I will, I promise," I said, before I quickly pecked his cheek, and started to get out of the chains.

I started to shimmy out of them, which was, at first, going well, but when I got to my hips, the chains started to tug at my skin. Sometimes they would only pinch my skin, only making Alfred nervous, but not really hurting me. Then, some would actually cut deep cuts into my skin that made me cry out.

By the time I was only getting cut on my knees, my waist, hands, and hips were covered in cuts and blood, and Alfred was a nervous wreck. I finally stepped out of the chains, and let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding in.

I was out and free! Of course, my body felt like I just went through another torture session, but I had no time to complain about that. I had to get Alfred out, and then we were to be on our way to freedom!

I turned to Alfred, and said, "Plan is going great so far!"

I was expecting to see him smile due to the sudden hope, but instead, I saw that his face looked scared have to death. I followed his eyes to where he was looking, and found that behind me, Matthias' boxcar light had turned on.

Ok. Does that stupid wanker have to ruin every single good moment I have? Bollocks…

I immediately turned back around to Alfred, and whispered to him, "It is too late now to go back on this plan. Get out of there and come with me!"

Alfred quickly nodded his head, and started to get out of the chains. As he was easily getting out, he said, "You go without me. I will catch up. It is better if one of us is guaranteed to make it, so we can for sure get help, ok?"

"I am not leaving without you, Alfred. Now hurry the Hell up, already!" I whisper/shouted, gesturing him to hurry. He finally stumbled out of the chains, and fell to the ground. As he clutched his burn, I ran to him to pick him up.

"Hurry up, Alfred!" I panted, as I tried to pick him up. Alfred finally got control of his limbs, and stood up. The fear in his eyes when he looked up at me was confusing at first, but I finally understood when I felt the barrel of a gun against my head.

I closed my eyes, expecting to hear the sound of the trigger being pulled and my life end. But instead, all I heard was laughing. It was Matthias' sinister laugh that I actually feared very much.

I opened my eyes again, and stared at Alfred just to make sure that he was the last thing I saw, if Matthias decided to pull the trigger.

With little hope of actually being able to hold his hand, I lifted up my hand to grab Alfred's. He tried to make as little movement as possible, as he caught it, and squeeze my hand between his four fingers and thumb.

"You know," Matthias laughed, finally saying words between his breaths, "I think it is really cute that you guys thought you could escape."

Alfred and I didn't answer. We just kept our eyes on each other. It was almost as if we were having a silent conversation… Or – I guess, a silent goodbye.

"But," Matthias continued, "You guys' failure of an escape plan gave me a great idea. An idea I think you guys will enjoy."

I saw Alfred grit his teeth at the sound of another one of Matthias' plans. This never went anywhere good, and both of us knew it.

Matthias punched me into the back, making me stumble onto Alfred. He caught me, and held me in his embrace, like I would vanish if he let go. I can't say I didn't do the same though.

I seriously thought that was the end for me, but here I was, having a second chance to be in Alfred's arms again. It felt great, but for the past few days these great feelings didn't last long…

Like I thought, Matthias started to speak again… ruining the moment of reuniting.

He said, "You guys act like you haven't seen each other in ages! You will have plenty of time for… that… later if you win the game I just made up."

"Game?" Alfred asked, still not loosening his grip around my waist, "That sounds like something out of a Saw movie, and I'd rather not play any games like that."

"Getting cocky already, Alfred? You might not want to test your luck. I could give you several disadvantages for the game we are about to play," Matthias said, making Alfred bite his tongue to keep from talking back anymore.

He continued, "The game I guess you could say, is cat and mouse. You run and try to escape me while I hunt you down. If you win, and I can't find you after two days, I will never try to kidnap or kill you ever again, if you lose, then I killed you! Doesn't that sound fun?"

I stared up at Alfred to see his reaction. I could see confusion, hope, anger, happiness, and sadness in his eyes. The feelings in his eyes made him look like he was lost in thought, while trying to think of ways to kill Matthias.

"I will give you guys a tiny advantage, if you don't mind," Matthias continued speaking, "I'll give you both a five minute head start. Ok?"

Alfred snapped out of his thoughts, and said, "Yes." He grabbed me tighter, and started to slowly back away from Matthias.

Matthias started to wave us away, and said, "Goodbye! See you guys soon!"

Alfred turned away from him, forcing me to turn around too. "Come on, Arthur," he whispered, as I managed to start walking away on my own.

Alfred started to run faster, as he clutched his burn. As I caught up with his pace, and we started to enter the woods in the direction we were planning on going, I asked him, "Do you really think we have chance?"

He glanced back at me, and asked, "Where did all the optimism you had, go? There's finally real hope for us, Arthur! And I am not planning on letting it slip through my fingers that easily."

And with that, we were off. Off into the woods that held whether or not we were going to be free. It wasn't up to anyone at this point as to where our fate was headed. But all of that didn't matter. All I knew what Alfred was back. Not entirely, but he was back.

He was taking me out of this darkness. My oar was staying afloat, and I couldn't be any more happier.

_A/N: Yet another chapter has been posted! How did you guys like it? Please – Please – Please tell me in the reviews! I love reading them! Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!_

_Have a great day!_

_NorwegianPilot17 __J_


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